Revised Leaving The North
by LottieDot
Summary: This is my attempt to get me to finish this story by editing what I have. If you are new to North this is a multi POV story, multi pairs, wildly AU modern day high school story. The Starks leave the North and move South. Love, fear and a lot more impact the lives of three of the Stark children and all the people they meet. Read and enjoy.
1. Saying Goodbye

**A/N: If you are reading this then you are new to my story or here to get to the newest update. I have to admit that I have a bit of a writers block on the end of this story and I have decided to edit what I have done so far to get my insperation back so I can finish this story. I fully advise that you go back and re-read the story. I have added a Bran POV to the end of this chapter that wasn't there before. And I plan on finishing the editing soon. So re-read and if you havent already reviewed then REVIEW. Okay thats it. On with the story!**

Arya

Arya Stark stood on the shadows of the foyer of Stark Manor at the farewell party that her parents were having to say good bye to all their friends and families that were staying in Winterfell. Since she didn't have any friends there was no one that she wanted to say good bye to. She was glad to be rid of the girls that called her ugly and the boys that saw her as a way to get to her more attractive sister and popular brothers. She had never had a place at the school, never had friends, she was always alone. Some days Arya was so lonely and wished she could have friends, but then she would hear the other grils and the thought vanished.

"Oh Sansa we are going to miss you so very much. I can't believe that you are going to be leaving Winterfell High." A sad voice exclaimed to her sister.

"I will miss you all so much." Sansa said her voice muffled in what Arya figured was an embrace.

"And with Bran going to the school as well this year, it would have been so much fun for us all."

Arya had been going to the same school with the same people since kindergarten. She had known most of them since pre-school or birth. She never understood how they over looked her. She was a person too, a Stark as well. She should have been seen. Here she was invisible; here she was a no body. She could not wait to be going to a new school. She wanted to leave these people so bad she was shaking with excitement.

What she did not want to do is leave her home. Winterfell was the only place that she had ever called home. The place where she had learned to walk, swim, fight and watched her brothers try to fix the junk cars that they would con their father into buying for them. It was a wild and unforgiving place just like she was. She didn't want to trade a fresh start in a school for the place she called home. She would gladly stay at Winterfell High as Arya the invisible odd child of Eddard and Catelyn Stark.

But that was not going to happen. They would be moving South to a wealthy subdivision of Los Angels knows as Kings Landing. They were three months into the school year and they would still be moving. Her father was moving most of the family so he could help out his boyhood friend Robert Baratheon's failing business venture. A new life and a new start their father called it. All Arya wanted it to be was herself. Not new and not different, just herself.

As she stood there she realized she did not know who herself was. She watched the smiling happy faces of those around her and saw their confidence. She wanted that. She wanted to feel like she belonged somewhere. Even if it was fake, like all the girls who flocked around Sansa.

"I cannot believe that your father is making you move. You are such an inspiration to all the students at the school. And that younger brother is such a sensational student. There is going to be a large void created with you two no longer with us at Winerfell High."

"I know that Bran and I are both sorry to be leaving. We have so many happy memories of that has enjoyed his time there, even if it has only been three months" Sansa replied.

Arya can hear the slightly borde tone of voice her sister had been using this entire evening. Arya knew that her sister didn't want to leave, but Arya thought that Sansa might be ready to leave these people that were always around her.

Arya sucked in her breath. She recognized the voice of Principle Luwin. She was not surprised to note that she had been completely forgotten, and that her sister had not said anything about her either. She had hoped that at least the teachers would remember her. She was a good student. Her GPA never falling below a 3.5. But she knew that compared to her older sister, with her 3.75 GPA and her super smart brother who had jumped grades and always had a perfect 4.0 she was small potatoes.

She tried to blend farther into the shadows under the grand staircase where she was hiding. She had learned a long time ago to hide from people. But she also knew how to be seen and heard when she wanted to. And now she was fed up. She was tired of being ignored. Standing there in a house full of people that she had known most of her life she decided that at the new school things were going to be different.

She was going to find friends, she was going to find herself. Nothing was going to get in her way. She wanted to be somebody, not a nobody.

Sansa

"What are we going to do without our Prom Queen? I don't know who will win now that you are leaving."

Sansa was used to getting fawned over. People following her around and doting on her. Whether it was because of her father's money and power, her beauty and popularity or because they wanted something from her she had never lacked friends. Even the teachers at school let her get away with anything she wanted. Things were going to be very different going to Kings Landing High. She wasn't going to be popular there. She was not a vain person, but in her way she was obsessed with having people like her.

Sansa was unhappy about moving. She knew that she was a shoe in for prom queen here in Winterfell High. Sansa still felt the shock of finding out that they were moving during her senior year. The night her father had told the family of his plans she had felt like some one had hit her with a truck. All her hopes for Prom Queen were dashed. She had cried and pleaded with her parents not to make her move away, but nothing had worked. This move was the worst thing that could have happened to her.

She was Student Body President, sure to be valedictorian and was the captain of the cheer leading squad. Life here was perfect. Why in gods name would she want to move to some stupid place in the South? The people there wouldn't open their arms to her like people did in the North where she had grown up. She would be the new girl, at the bottom of the food chain. There was no way for her to get to the top. Her situation was hopeless and dismal. She was depressed and hated her parents for leaving, but she had to move on from that. She was starting a new life and that was not something ti go into with a cloud hanging over your head.

The one good thing that she could count on was that her family was wealthy and well known. Her mother was a great beauty and heiress in her day and her family name still meant something. And the name Stark was all over the papers lately due to her father's venture with Robert Baratheon. They were calling him the only person who could save Robert and his bad business decisions.

So at least the name Stark would mean something. It would make her a curiosity to the people who were the important people to impress at the new school. Her good looks and her résumé from Winterfell High would get her noticed. And if she used her charm and intelligence to get into the right circle there was still a chance that she could become Prom Queen of Kings Landing. Hope was not completely lost. But hope was a long way off from right now. She stood there and hugged her friends and cried with them. Tonight was a night for sadness and farewells.

Her hope was the only comfort that she had during the Farewell Party that her family was having. Her forced smile and condolences that she received were almost enough to make her break down and cry again. Instead she held onto the hope that her dream was not dead as she said her good byes to her old live.

Bran

Bran stood off to the side of the party with a glass of punch in one hand and a book in the other. He was never seen without a book, unless he was climbing or running. He watched as his sister Arya hid in the shadows and then as Sansa and her gaggle stood in front of Aryas hiding spot to say their touching good byes. He wasn't at all surprised to note that no one said good bye to Arya and almost every student that was at the house had said farewell to Sansa.

He had a few friends and team mates come and say their good byes to him. In the short time that he had been at Winterfell High he was surprised at how popular he had become. He knew that his teachers and coaches would be sad to see him leave, but not so much his fellow students.

He had asked Robb why he was more popular in high school then he was when he had been in all the grades before and his older brothers answer had been that Bran was just riding on his elder brothers reputations. Bran knew that he was joking with him, but at the same time he couldn't help but wonder if it was true.

Bran was anxious about starting a new school like his sisters, but his reasons were for a totally different reason. He was a year younger then everyone in his class. He was fine with it at Winterfell, everyone knew him and his family. But in Kings Landing no one would know him. He didn't want to just be that weird smart kid. He was also a track and cross country runner. He had already received word that he was on the teams at the new school, but he was still anxious.

What he was most excited about was that Kings Landing had some of the most advanced high school classes of any school in the North. He might actually be challenged this year in school. Everything just came too easy for him. Arya complained that he was a know it all and always had to be right. That wasn't the case. It wasn't his fault that he had a photographic memory. Or that he wanted to know the answer to everything. It was in his nature to question and explore.

He looked up to the top of the stairs to see his parents standing there. Eddard had his arm around his wife's waist and he was whispering something in her ear. She gave him a small smile then looked over the crowd. His mother elegant and calm, his father stoic and strong. Bran knew that there was going to be the fare well speech soon. He knew that the gist of the speech, having overheard his father going over it in his study earlier this week. Thankfully it was not going to be to long. He turned and wove his way to Aryas hiding spot.

"Hey there Shadow Cat." Bran said in greeting to his sulking sister.

"You know that I don't like it when you call me that," Arya huffed, giving her younger brother a playful shove.

"I don't see why. I would take it as a compliment. That's one of the names of the X-Men. You are as silent as a cat and hide in the shadows, I think it's an adapt nickname." Bran defended himself. "Anyway I came over to tell you that mother and father are getting ready to say their farewell speech. We have to go stand with everyone at the foot of the stairs."

The two made their way to the bottom of the stairs where the rest of the Stark family was standing. Robb was there looking like the best mixture of both parents. Their two adopted brothers, Jon and Theon were on the same step as Robb. Jon was the son of their father's sister who died in child birth and Theon was the heir to the Grayjoy Corporation. His parents had both died in a freak boating accident with his older siblings. He had been at Starks manor when it happened and just never left. Their youngest brother Rickon was there with his face covered in cupcake frosting and Sansa was trying to wipe it off with no success. Once Bran and Arya reached the family their father clanked his glass for everyone's attention.

"Friends, my family and I are all very honored that you have all come to say good bye to us. The older boys will still be around as they are enrolled in the University and Robb has consented to stay here and work in the Home Office. As you all know we are making the trip South to assist my oldest friend in a new business venture to strengthen our companies and expand them into something that we will be proud to pass onto our children someday. Our four youngest children will be accompanying Catelyn and I on this journey. It is difficult for us all to be leaving the love and friendship that we have all built here." Eddard paused to look around at the assembled crowd, meeting the eyes of longtime friends. "But it is not good bye forever. We will return. We Starks belong here. We are part of this land and won't be away from it long. With that Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon and I wish you all farewell and the whole family wish you all a safe trip home." Ned and Catlin raised their glassed in a toast. Those who had glasses to rise in the audience raised theirs in a gesture of goodbye.

Arya

Her father's speech was short and to the point, yet a little sappy. Her family had just said their good byes to the 200 guests that had been in attendance. She was beyond tired and wanted nothing more then to go to sleep in her bedroom for the last time.

She has started up the stairs and was passing her father's study when his voice calling her name made her enter his office.

"Yes daddy?"

"I noticed that you didn't have any of your friends here and that you had no one to say good bye to. Didn't you invite your friends?" Ned asked, concern wrinkling his brow.

Her father was one of the smartest men that she knew, but for all that he saw and noticed he was truly blind.

"I don't really have any friends here dad. It's one of the reasons I was so keen on moving South. I am not like Sansa. I don't have a fan club to tie me down." Arya told her father truthfully.

Ned chuckled.

"Out of all my children you are the one I worry about the most. Well you and Jon. And I guess Bran as well, but not in the same extent as you two. You have to much of your aunt in you. She was head strong and didn't want to conform to what was expected of her either. I hope that you find what you are looking for in Kings Landing. Now come over here and give your old man a hug and get some sleep. It is a busy day tomorrow."

Arya walked willingly into her fathers opened arms. She truly loved her father. She was closer to him then her mother. She stayed in his embrace a moment longer then she expected. She savored the feeling of safety and love that she always associated with her father. He was so strong, so brave and so smart. In that moment no boy or man would ever be better then her dad.

"I love you daddy" Arya said into his chest, giving him one last squeeze.

'I love you too, Little Wolf. Now get to bed." Ned kissed the top of her head and pushed her to the door of the study.

Once in the hall she passed the rooms of her brothers and sister. Sansa's door was slightly opened and she heard a soft sound of muffled crying. Arya was going to stop, but decided against it. She went in search of her mother, knowing she could fix Sansa's problem.

She found Catelyn Stark in her bedroom looking at the near empty room.

"Mother I think Sansa is in her room crying. I was going to see what the matter with her was, but then I remembered I have no tact." Arya said walking into the room.

"Oh Arya what am I going to do with you? No tact indeed."

"At least I know what I have and where my short comings are." Arya shrugged.

Catelyn chuckled and walked over to her youngest daughter. She placed a kiss on her hear.

"Thank you dear. Now off to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

Arya walked to her bedroom. It was up one more flight of stairs and the smallest bedroom in the house. But compared to normal houses it was rather large. What made it small was that there was no sitting room attached like all the rooms on the floor below. Once upon a time her room was what would have been considered the servants quarters and would have housed six to eight girls. She loved looking out of the window and seeing the trees and the land of the estate. She would miss this view. She shut the door and went over to her bed and sat down. She stripped off her shoes and leaned back in her bed. Her room was almost empty. She signed and stood. She put her pajamas on and slipped into bed ready to sleep. She closed her eyes and was out within seconds.

Sansa

Sansa stood in her barren room looking around at the familiar surroundings. She had lived in this room for as long as she could remember. After tomorrow that would change. She would be in a new room, in a new house, in a new town. In that moment it was just to much. She flung herself onto her bed and sobbed.

She heard the soft tread of her mother's footsteps crossing the room. She felt her mother sit down on the bed. Her mother started running her hand over Sansa's hair. It was very soothing, something that her mother used to do when she was upset as a child.

"What is the matter sweetheart?" Her Catelyn finally asked once Sansa's sobs had died down.

"I just don't want to leave. Why can't I stay here? I only have one more year of school left."

"You know why dear. It is not the end of the world. You will see. You might even like Kings Landing." Catelyn tried to sooth her daughter.

"You have said all this before mother. I have already agreed to give it a try. But just for tonight let me be sad. Let me be angry, let me just be. I need to be sad and mad and mourn." Sansa turned away from her mother and buried her face in her pillow.

Catelyn stood and walked to the door. She took one last look at her heartbroken daughter and softly closed the door behind her. Sansa strained her ears to make sure her mother had walked away. Once she was sure she had she broke into an uncontrolled sob.

Bran

Bran placed his microscope softly into the packing case and tapped it up. He had been reluctant to pack his most valuble things. His books were already gone as well as his large computer system. He had his tablet and his Kindle Fire HD with him, but he still felt naked with out his whole computersystem. He was not able to run any of the complicated searches he loved making. There was no way that he could be able to download anything that he wanted to see.

Hw was keeping most of his things here. All his fosials and the discoveries that he had found here on Winterfell. He had quite a collection of things from around the place. Many of them were very old. This land had been in his family since the first European people had set foot on the western coast of the United States. One of the first things he had ever reasurched was the history of his home.

There was a long and amazing history to this place. It was one of the things that Bran was going to miss most. He knew that L.A. was full of history and it was not something that was not impressive. He had read everything there was to read about it. He read about the businesses and the movie and the crime. He thought that he had a firm grasp of the place he was going to move to. He hated going to a place and not knowing anything about it. He had just finished a book about the political history of that part of the country and he was ready to finish packing.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Bran called.

Theon and Robb walked in the room.

"Fuck it looks so naked with out all of your books." Theon said as he flopped down on the bed.

"Yeah. It is a little weird to go to sleep in this room now. It echos." Bran laughed to prove his point. His voice bounced off the walls. The three boys smiled at each other.

"Bran we wanted to ask you for some advice." Robb said.

"What do you want to know?" Bran sat on a chair and looked at his older brothers.

"We need to know about the Roman Empire. You see we have to compare the current business empires to the Roman times and all I know about Rome is from the movie _Gladiator_." Theon said.

"Um, I don't know if you can use that. Let me do some reading and I think I can help you. When do you need this info?"

"The end of next week." Robb says standing and stretching his back.

"I can do with that." Bran said. He smiled at his brothers and they walked out and they all said goodnight. Bran was finished packing, everything else was staying here. He turned off his lights and got into his bed for one last nights sleep in the room that had been his since he was a baby.


	2. Leaving The North

**A/N I am going to edit this one now too. I think you all will like what I did in this one. I am going to add some more meat to this chapter. I am going back and it is shocking I had some chapters under 2000 words at the start! That is amazing to me that they started out so small and then grew huge. Hope you all like what I have done and fixed to this one. **

Bran

There was quite a hullabaloo when the Starks left for the airport the next day. Bran stood next to his father and watched as his little brother and oldest sister cried and had tantrums. Sansa had refused to leave her room and had not come down until their father had picked her up and carried her down stairs. She called him every bad word she knew, the worst ones aimed at him as Ned Stark walked with his eldest daughter in his arms. Bran knew that Sansa didn't want to leave home, but this was to much even for Sansa. Rickons and his behavior was more acceptable. He was the baby after all. They all let Rickon act a little wild, being the baby of the family.

Arya stood next to them leaning against the car with rather large sun glasses on. Bran knew that she was crying too, but he was smart enough not to tease her about it. She threw a mean punch when she was pissed. His mother tried to console her two wailing children and usher them into the car. Catelyn got Sansa into the car fifteen minutes later but Rickon was clinging onto the legs of one of the stone wolves beside the front door.

"I don't want to leave. I won't go, you can't make me!" Rickon screamed for what felt to Bran as the hundredth time in the last few minutes.

"Father he isn't going to budge. You will have to get him." Bran said looking over to his father.

"I know. I was just hoping he would get it out of his system here, and not on the plane." Ned sighed and pushed off the car that he had been leaning against.

Bran watched as his father detangled the hysterical Rickon from the statue and carried him to the car.

"It's lucky we are taking two town cars for a change. This way father can hold Rickon on the drive to the airport." Jon said before he ducked into the car that did not have the crying Stark children in them.

"It is a good thing father decided to use a privet plane and not a commercial one. We would have missed it if we had." Bran said slipping in next to Jon.

Arya slid in next to him and the driver came around and shut the door. Then the car with their parents and Rickon, Sansa and the manager of the estate Rodrik Cassel pulled away from the house. Bran could only imagine the hysteria that was going on in the car in front of theirs.

"I do not envy mother and father for being stuck with those two. I just hope that Rickon passes out soon and Sansa would stop her dramatic." Robb said. They all knew that Robb and Sansa were close, so hearing Robb say those things about Sansa took Bran aback.

"To bad no one thought to slip something into their food to make them sleep the whole way." Theon said. He always had crazy ideas about how things should be done.

Bran shot him a look that was annoyed and not amused.

"What. I was only joking." Theon said. He was always joking, Bran would not miss this about his older brother. He would miss him, but not his wit.

"I almost did. But they weren't eating anything at breakfast." Arya said from the corner of the car. Her four brothers looked at her. She shrugged and settled into the corner of the car, trying to get into a more comfortable position. "We could have left sooner. There wouldn't have been drama and I wouldn't have a headache."

"Arya you can't be serious?" Jon asked. Bran thought she was serious, but the others had to ask to make sure.

"Yeah I was, and why not? They do it to dogs before they fly. It is only a little sleeping pill. But like I said I didn't do it. They didn't eat a bite. I even had Mrs. Clark in on the idea." She huffed and hunkered down further into her seat.

The four brothers widened their eyes. Their cook/house keeper and Arya plotting together was something new. Mrs. Clark had always had a soft spot for Sansa for her kind nature and Rickon for being the baby. Bran could not believe that she had agreed to drug her two favorite children. Bran knew, but the rest of the Stark kids didn't, was that their cook/house keeper couldn't have children. So he knew that she loved them more then anything and would do nothing to hurt them.

Bran rolled his eyes and took out his Kindle to read on the way to the airport. They were there by the time Bran had finished the book he was reading about the reign of the Roman emperor Caligula. He had put the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty onto his Kindle last night. True to his word he would read up on all the Roman Emperors to help his brothers. His mother's words for her house were Family, Duty, Honor, and Bran liked the Family part the best. He had read about Augustus and Tiberius that morning during breakfast and before they were ready to leave the house. He had two emperors to go and he hoped that they would keep him occupied for the flight but he doubted it. He wanted to read about all the Emperors of Ancient Rome for them by the end of next week. There were a lot to cover. He also had a book on the Year of the Four Emperors and the Flavian dynasty as a backup for the flight. He thought that he would reach them and that he would know enough to translate it into something that would help his brothers out.

God they were going to miss him when he was no longer there to help them with their homework. He knew that he could graduate in the next year, he was smart enough he could be in collage next year. But that was all by Winterfell High standards. Bran was eager to go get to Kings Landing to see what they could throw at him.

Sansa

Saying good bye to her home had been more traumatic then she had expected. She had cried and felt self-pity as they prepared to leave. She felt humiliated that her father had to carry her out of the house while she cried and pleaded not to be forced to leave. She had been all ready to put up a fight with Ned once he took her out of the front door. Then she saw Rickons reaction. And that really broke her heart and tore her up when she saw her brother's complete breakdown. She had tried to comfort him, be the big strong sister that he needed but was unable to help him. She was so wrapped up in herself pity and sadness that she knew that she couldn't help her baby brother. They both crumpled onto the drive and cried together until their mother collected her and put her in the car. Ned came and gathered Rickon in his arms and brought them to the car. She wondered why it took them so long to do something for them, to collect their children, but that was a thought for another time.

She sat in the town car weeping on her mother's shoulder. Her father finally entered the car with her youngest sibling. The other Starks entered the second car. They drove off to the airport. Rickon finally fell asleep from crying. Her parents talked to Rodrik about how to manage the house and the people that lived on the land. Sansa didn't want to hear it so she put her iPod on and tried to block them out. She played Sia's song Breath Me over and over again on repeat. She just wanted to do the teenage girl thing and sulk in her miser, this song fit her mood perfectly, it all said everything she was feeing and wanted to say, but she couldn't. So she put on the most depressing song that she had and let the silent tears fall as she looked out the window and said her good byes to the land that she loved. The home she knew.

She would never tell her family, but she would truly miss the lush green valleys. She would miss the free flowing rivers and the old majestic trees. She would miss the mountains with their snow covered peaks and weather of rolling clouds that never seemed to dissipate And. the ever damp feeling that never completely went away. She loved the land of her family, but never told the others of her love. She was the clean girl that her mother wanted. But she loved the land and she would miss it more then she knew as she drove thorough it. But she would never tell her family that. It was her secret, the one she would always hide in her heart. Her love of her ancestral land. She knew that the others showed their love for Winterfell on their sleeves, but she was a lady and they did not do that. They kept their love a secret.

They arrived at the airport and got out of the cars. Her father carried the still sleeping Rickon onto the plane and then reappeared to say his good byes to his oldest children. Sansa got out and went to her oldest brother and hugged him tightly. He was the sibling that she was closest to. It was probably because they were of the same temperament.

"This is good bye little sister" He held her close to him. Sansa didn't know when they would see each other again, but she hoped it was soon. "You are the oldest now. Watch out for the others. Watch out for yourself." Robb kissed the top of her head and then was moving on to say farewell to their mother.

Theon was next. Even though he had been in the family as an official member of the family since she was five, she still felt awkward around him. They said a very formal goodbye with a fast hug and a hand shake.

Last was her brother Jon. They had a fast but tender parting.

"Watch out there in the big city sis. I hear that it is hell out there." Jon held her to him.

"I will Jon. And I know that if there is ever a problem to call you older brothers. You have always taken care of me." She gave him a tear filled smile. He whipped one of her fallen tears away.

"Yeah we are always here for you sis. But you have to watch out for the others. I know, Robb already told you this, but you are the oldest now. Take care of the younger ones." They hugged again. This was the most loving they had ever been. She wanted to make her escape now, before she broke down completely again and lost her will to leave her land.

So she left her brother and was on the plane waiting for it to take off. She put her iPod back on and closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She played the music from the ballet of Swan Lake. She didn't think that music with words would get her up in the air. So it was classical music all the way. The flight shouldn't be to long three hours at most. She could survive that.

Arya

The ride to the airport was short and slightly damp. It was typical to Northern whether so she was used to it. But once she got out of the car she wished that it was sunny, not raining. They stood outside of the plane and said goodbye to the older boys. She said bye to Theon first. He mussed her hair and told she should try something different with her it, it could help her get a guy. She loved him but he could still be an ass. Robb told her to stay out of trouble and to not go looking for it.

"I don't go looking for it, it finds me." She retorted.

"Well don't give it an excuse." He advised. She felt like he knew something she didn't and it made her stomach twist.

Jon was next. They were the most alike. The closest. He was her best friend, the one who knew her wishes, fears and helped her with it all. She had kept her over large sunglasses on despite the fact that it was over cast and that they were not needed. She knew that she would start to cry and didn't want anyone to see her tears.

"Good bye Little Wolf. I will miss you." He was the only one who she allowed to call her that beside her father. He enfolded her into his iron strong arms and held her tight.

"Jon you are crushing me. I can't breathe." She hissed.

"Well take care. Robb already told you a thing or two. Now I have some advice and want you to follow it. If anyone gives you a hard time use that left hook of yours. And be yourself. You will need to let people see the real you. Don't hide in the shadows anymore." He hugged her to him. She held on tight and breathed in his wild sent of the true North. She would miss that smell the most.

"I will try to. Really I will." She let out a small sob and buried her face in his shirt.

"I have to go say bye to father now. Be a good Little Wolf and get on the plane." He gave her a little shove to enter the plane. She stumbles and went to the seat at the very back of the plane. She didn't want to see anyone; she just wanted to be alone in the shadows for one last time before she came out of hiding.

Bran

He had a very guy like goodbyes with his brothers. Handshakes and pats on the back after a quick hug. There was the normal brotherly words of advice on girls, fun and what not.

Remember," Theon said, "girls don't like feeling that they are stupid, so try and hide that HUGE brain of yours, but don't hide that huge cock."

Bran pushed him away and said the only thing that would make that Statement alight.

"Fuck off Theon. Just because my junk is bigger than yours doesn't mean that you have to shout it out to the world." Bran fought not to blush as he hugged his adopted brother.

"Bigger then mine? You wish shrimp."

The goodbyes with Robb and Jon were normal enough. They both said to watch out for the others. He was the eldest man in the house and he had to take care of the girls, because father would be working so much. He told them both that he would watch out for the girls and that was it. He had said hos goodbyes to his home.

Bran walked onto the plane and saw Sansa pretending to sleep and Arya looking out the window at her waving brothers. She looked deep in thought.

His parents entered the plane and they took off. He sat there looking out the window and the landscape change from lush, sparkly populated land to densely populated areas. He never appreciated how they had their own airfield or that they were in the last bit of wild land in the country until that moment. He read his book and saw the sun poking out from behind the clouds. Soon they would touch down in the city of their new home. The new life for the Stark children was about to begin.


	3. The South

Sansa

The drive from the airport to their new house was fairly uneventful. The one thing that Sansa could say was that palm trees were strange and exotic. She couldn't get over how bright the sun was, or how everything shined. It was a different world here. On the street women wore the shortest shorts and the tiniest tops. The men were all gelled and made up. All the cars she saw were new and looked expensive. Tan people were everywhere and they were all fit. Sansa figured with all the extra heat there was here in the South people didn't need the extra layer of fluff as she called it to keep them warm. They drove through the city to the area where the houses were. They were all big and screamed money. She knew that their new house would look like that. It wouldn't have the grace and age that their home had. The new one would have flash and pizazz to fit in with all the other houses around here. It would be new, at least in comparison to the house she grew up in.

She was slightly shocked when they drove to a house completely surrounded by trees and rather far from the road. There was a sense of familiarity and comfort with the trees all around. The house wasn't like the others. This one was made of stone, at least the front was. And it looked graceful in a way that she didn't expect after viewing all the showy houses that they had passed. "Our new home." Their father said when he pulled the car to a stop in front of the door.

"Let's go get settled in. We have a busy weekend ahead of us before school start on Monday." Catelyn said to her children. The Starks entered their new house.

The entry way was full of light and opened. The stairs leading to the second story was on the right as was what appeared to be a study. On the left there was a large room that looked like a sitting room.

"Mommy this house smells funny." Little Rickon complained loudly as he entered the house.

"That is because it has just been painted and had new carpeting put in." Bran explained to his younger brother.

"I don't like it. I want to go home." Rickon wailed. "I want to go back to Winterfell." Rickon being the baby of the family was used to getting his way with everything. He had not wanted to move. This was the first time that his tantrums and fits had not gotten him the results that he wanted.

"Do you want to see your room sweeting?" Catelyn asked in her brightest voice.

"I have my own room here?" Rickon's voice changed from angry to intrigued.

"Yes dear. This way."

Sansa watched her mother lead her brother up the stairs. She just stood there looking around. She felt like a guest, not like a person who lived in the house.

"I guess we should look around." Sansa finally said, unable to deal with the silence between the remaining members of her family.

"Yes, that is a good idea for you kids. I have to make some calls. I will be in the study if you need me." Ned said.

"Let's go find our rooms." Sansa said to Bran and Arya.

Eddard

Ned stood in the doorway of his study and watched his children trudge up the stairs to look for their new rooms. There was a slump in all of them. He knew that Bran and Arya said they were okay with the move, but there was still a deep sadness in them about it. He didn't blame them. He felt the same way. Sansa and Rickon had taken it harder then he had imagined they would. He knew that they were scared more then anything. Ned knew that they would be alright soon. Rickon was young and would bounce back fast as soon as he met some friends. Sansa was a different matter. She had been on the top at Winterfell High. It wouldn't be the same here. She only had one year left in school. Making friends would be tougher for her. He would have to do something nice to make her feel better. Maybe a shopping spree with his credit card or a new car would be enough to make her forget her sadness. She had her license. And she had been bugging him for a new car for months now instead of having to drive her mother's "old car".

He went and sat down behind his desk and pulled out his cell phone. He scrolled in his contact list until he found the name that he was looking for. He put the phone down on his desk and starred at the phone not wanting to make the call that he had to. Robert Baratheon was his oldest friend, but he was a far cry from the young man that he had once known. He had become a bitter drunk who didn't give a damn about anything. Not his company or his family. It was something that Ned could not abide. When a man had as much power that he and Robert had they had responsibilities and duty and honor to up hold. He rubbed his temples and prepared for the call with the man that was once closer to him then a brother. "Hello?" Robert bellowed into the phone. He was already drunk at 1:30 in the afternoon.

"Robert its Ned. I just wanted to let you know that we have arrived in town."

"NED! I am so glad that you called. I have decided to throw you a welcome to town party. Damn Cersie has been planning it. Everything is ready for you and your family."

"Robert," Ned begin, "we only just arrived. I do not think that we are up for a party."

"Now you lessen here Ned. I am throwing you a party and you will be there. You have to come. You are the guest of honor. There is still going to be a party with or without you, but you will just look like an ass if you don't come."

Ned knew that he was backed into a corner. If he didn't go things could become very bad. He would be alienating the very person he was here to help. He still remembered the night when Robert had called him two months ago. Robert was sobbing and sober for once.

"Ned I need your help. My company is going under. I want to purposes a business venture for you and me. It would help me recoup my money and you could make millions. I have had my people crunch the numbers and I know it would work." Robert sounded so desperate and the despair in his voice had pulled at Ned's heart. He could not allow all the good hard working people who are Roberts's employees to suffer because their boss was irresponsible. He had to help them. He had to save them.

"Have your people send over the proposal and I will look it over." That was all Ned said that night.

That one sentence had altered his life and the lives of his family.

"Alright Robert we will be there. What time?" Ned asked with resignation.

"Seven. And do not be late." Robert slurred.

Ned sat behind his desk for a moment then got up in search of his wife to tell her the new development.

Arya

She found her new room with no problem. She knew it was hers right away, not only because her stuff was in it but because of where it was at. It was in the farthest corner of the house overlooking a patch of trees. It was a very nice view. Most of her stuff was still in boxes, but her bedding was unpacked and most of her clothes were as well. The deep purple bed spread that she had picked out was one of her new favorite things in the world. Her mother wanted her to pick something feminine and soft. But there wasn't much in her personality that was soft. She picked her purple, silver and black bed room set instead of the yellow and orange one that her mother and sister had wanted her to get. Her walls were painted a light lilac color that was a combination of the purple and silver. Her furniture was a dark wood almost black. Her iPod dock was on the desk overlooking the view and her dresser was in the closet. There were not many personal effects cluttering her room.

She had some paintings on the walls that she had done at an art camp that her parents had made her go to the summer before the move. She had been very pleased with the paintings and had enrolled in art classed at Winterfell, and had at Kings Landing as well. One of her best painting that she had made was of a car motor that her brother Jon was working on to restore. She loved cars. They were something that she could really understand and she loved to tinker with. She had talked to her father about taking some auto classes in Kings Landing. It had been something that she had wanted to do at Winterfell but her mother had shot that idea down faster then Arya could blink. Catelyn was not happy when she found Arya hanging around her brothers when she was 10 when they tinkered with their cars. She had yelled and lectured all four children about how unsafe it was for a little girl to be around an automobile and all the paraphilia involved with them. But Ned had agreed to let her take the classes at her new school. She was over the moon because it meant that she didn't have to take the home economic classes or the interior design classes, or sewing or some other stupid homey classes that her mother had made her take in the past. She was sprawled on the bed when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in." She called.

"We have to go shopping." Catelyn said when she entered Arys room. "Robert has organized a welcome to town party for us. You, Sansa and I need something suitable to wear. And we will need to have a hair appointment as well."

"Come on mother. Shopping? We just got to town. Do we have to?" Arya wined while she flung a pillow over her head.

"Yes dear. All our nicer things that we could have worn tonight are still in transit and will not be here until Sunday. Most girls love shopping. It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon in a now place. There are new places to explore and people to meet. Try not to be a stick in the mud." Catelyn pulled off the pillow off her daughters face.

Catelyn smiled at her daughter in a way that she knew would have Arya saying yes to her just to get away from her.

"Alright mother. I will come shopping and let some yahoo do my hair." Arya grumbled.

"Thank you sweet heart. Get your shoes on and let's get going. The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can, you get the idea."

"You don't want to do this either do you mother?" Arya asked with a smile.

"No I don't. But it is our duty as Starks to attend this party. After all it is for us."

Bran

His room was perfect. It was better then his room back home. He had a feeling that it had once been a study or office. There were built in book shelves, with a window seat and quite a bit of wood. He knew that it was cherry and that the walls that were not bookshelves were painted in a muted moss color. The windows over looked the front of the house and the road.

He watched as his mother and sisters got into the car and embarked on their shopping trip. Sansa was bubbly and happy now. There was nothing more exciting to her then shopping. Arya looked like she was formulating a plan. He knew that she was up to something. Their mother looked stern. There were worry lines written all over her face.

He had Bach playing very low in the background as he shelved his books. At Winterfell he had to have his books in a separate room but he had left half of them in Winterfell. He loved that he was able to have them in his room here. The fire place that was once built into the wall had been converted into a desk. He had already set up his computer and had it whizzing looking up information on their new home and the people that he was likely to meet at this party tonight.

Bran liked to know everything about a situation before he entered into it. He downloaded the public profile on Robert Baratheon. He was born 43 years ago in Storms End on the east coast. His family had money and he invested wisely after he inherited everything. He had to support his two younger brothers. He was 18 when his parents died and he had to "raise" His younger brothers. His brother Stannis was 11 and Renly was 2. He went to college and took over the family corporation. He moved to Kings Landing to start a new headquarter for Baratheon Inc. Business was on an all-time high and things for him couldn't be going better. When he was 24 he married Cersie Lannister. She was the only daughter of his first major investor, they had a fairy tale relationship by all accounts and they fell in love at their first meeting. She was a rather young bride at 20 when they were wed. They have been married for the last 19 years and are rumored to be still madly in love. Two years later the couple had a child, Joffery age 17. By all accounts he is a good student. Quarterback for his football team and going to a very nice college next year. Their daughter Myrcella came next. She is 15. She is an above average student and in most clubs and activities that the school has to offer. She is a dancer and is not into other sports. Their youngest child, another boy Tommen is 9. He is a sweet boy who is not like his brother Joffery in any respects.

Bran doubted that much of what he read was true. But since he was working with a small time window to dig around for dirt this was the best he could do. He had a theory that the Barathons didn't really love each other. His first clue was that she kept her name. Bran also knew that business was not going to well for Robert. If it was really doing well the Starks would still be in Winterfell. He was not sure about the info on the Baratheon children. He suspected it could be true. He would just have to wait and see.

He hoped that Arya could be friends with the daughter. He had finished putting one box of books away. There was a chime on his computer. It was an instant message from Robb.

Robb _Hey there brother. Saw that you were online. Wanted to check in and see how your new room is treating you._

Bran _I very much enjoy my room. Are you procrastination from doing your homework?_

Robb _You know me. I always put things off until I have to do them. How are Rickon and the girls?_

Bran _Rickon is playing in his new room. Mom took the girls shopping and to get their hair done. Baratheon has surprised us with a party tonight in fathers honor._

Robb _That is not good. I bet Sansa is happy to be shopping. Well I have to go study. TTYL_

Robb signed off and Bran went back to unpacking.

**A/N I really didn't change this one to much. I am having such a good time getting to know these characters again. Stay with me. Love all you readers. Review?**


	4. Shopping and then a Party

**A/N To those who are reading this for the first time there will be some cussing, and it will be here to stay and there will be three new POav's enteric g this story from now on that are not Starks. Read and enjoy.**

Arya

She had never been more uncomfortable in her entire life. Sitting in the chair at the hair dressers at the salon was the strangest place she had ever been. She had never been to a place that she had her hair done. She had always just had one of the kitchen girls trim her hair. It is either in a braid or a messy bun. Her dark brown hair was almost to the small of her back. The owner of the establishment had fawned over her until he saw the state of her ends. Then he had walked away with his hands in that air.

She looked over to Sansa and saw the pure look of bliss on her sister's face. She had a face mask of some kind on, and one of the girls was giving her a manicure while her hair was in curlers. She was chatting away with the nail girl. It was a very interesting sight. Her sister was so beautiful that she didn't need all the extra stuff that she put on herself. They had already been shopping. They had been out since two and it was nearing five. Her mother had let her pick out her own dress for the evening, on the condition that it was in fact a dress. She picked put out a knee length strapless dress with a fitted bodice and a slightly puffed skirt. It was a deep purple and off set her skin and eyes. Her mother was not a fan of the color, but she said that the style and the cut flattered her very nicely. She was forced to get 3 inch heels at the least her mother had said. She chose a pair of strappy silver sandals. Sansa was very surprised that she found something that matched the dress.

"Well young lady we have to decide what to do with your hair. Now that it has been washed and conditioned properly." The hair dresser said. She was young, 6 months out of school but full of promise the proprietor of the salon assured her mother. "Do you want a cut as well as a style?"

Arya had been flipping through hair style magazines for the last 45 minutes. She had decided to get it cut. She knew that it was not what her mother had said, but she figured that her mother would be pleased that she did something with it.

"Yes I would. I was thinking of layers and some sort of sweeping bangs. Maybe sweeping over my left eye?" Arya asked her voice uncertain.

"Yes I can see how something like that would look good on you. I would like that. And for the evening I will give it some sweep and volume. Yes, yes, that is what I shall do."

Her mother had made her get her nails done earlier in the appointment. They had matched the polish to the dress. Her toes were done as well. She marveled that she had done something so girly. This would certainly draw attention to her.

"How long before my mother and sister will be done being pampered?"

"Oh an hour at least. They are going to be getting their makeup done as well. Would you like to have yours done too? I could do it for you after I am done with your hair. This will not take long." The styles said and she combed and snipped.

"Yes I would like that. I would like that a lot. And could you suggest what make up would look good on me and how to apply it?"

"I most certainly do that my dear. I can also tell you how to do your hair and how to style it." The stylist told her with a soft smile on her face as the worked on her bangs.

Arya sat back in the chair and smiled. She had told her brothers she would try something different and not hide. She was sure going to do that here, with a bang.

Sansa

Shopping was therapeutic. There was something about trying on clothes that made her think she was another person. She secretly felt like she was a spy when she went shopping. Trying on different outfits to use to infiltrate the under world of crime was what she felt like when she shopped. That evening she had picked out a dress that was a deep scarlet one shoulder thing with small flowers along the base of the ribcage. It flows out to form the skirt. Unlike Aryas dress the material is flowlly and moving. Her sisters was tight and shows off the curves of her body. Sansa wanted to hide hers. Her chest was not overly large but she wasn't by any means small. She let her mother help her choose her dress. To return the favor Caelyn allowed Sansa to help select hers. It was a deep blue and her hair looked splendid with it. It was not as short as her dress or her sisters; it went a little past her knee and was pelted. There was a matching jacket to go along with it as well. Catelyn made Arya get a jacket and she picked a silver one. Sansa was amazed that Arya picked it out on her own. The jewels on the small shrug matched the shoes and they matched the small jewel detail on the bodice.

Sansa had consulted with her mother about her hair and make up for the evening. After her mother had approved of what she had chosen she allowed the stylists to pamper her. She had her hair set, a mask applied and her nails done. She felt one hundred times better then when she had gotten off the plane that morning. The shops that they had gone to had been the best she had ever been in. She had loved shopping in Seattle but the stores in L.A. were much better. She was starting to think that it wouldn't be to bad living in the South. If the shops and salons were like this she could get used to it. She looked over at Arya. She was getting her hair cut. It was about time. And she was getting a style as well. Thank the gods. She had felt some trepidation upon entering a new school with her drab sister. Then she noticed that the stylist was putting foil in her hair. The kind that they used for coloring. She was sure that their mother was going to be very angry when she was that Arya had put a color in her hair without her permission. It would be like the time Arya had pierced her ears with a sowing needle.

Sansa smiled as they washed her face and applied her expert make up. She looked at her phone. There were over a dozen texts from her friends back home. They all demanded to know what the new place was like, what she was doing. Had she met any movie stars yet? Sansa sighed. She decided on a generic mass text.

_ The house is actually cool. There is a pool. We went shopping and I am at a salon getting worked over. There is a party tonight for the family at the Baratheons house. I will let you all know how it goes._

Within moments she had six replies. They all pretty much said the same thing.

_Send us pictures. Of everything._

She texted back via another mass text that she would post some pictures on Facebook. That appeased her friends.

Her time in the beauty chair was drawing to an end. She saw that her mother was almost finished as well. Arya seemed to be concentrating on what her stylist was telling her, taking it all in. Sansa couldn't see the color that she knew was hidden in her sisters' hair. But she was amazed at how she looked. She was not the same girl that had walked in two hours ago. She was a groomed lady. Except for her clothing. All the Stark ladies were not in their best.

"I think we will have to change here dears." Catelyn said as she looked at her watch. "We won't have enough time to do it at home."

"All right mother." Sansa said and went to get her garment bag from where she had it hanging. She was very lucky that she had shaved her legs that morning. She went into a curtained cubicle that her stylist directed. She heard Arya follow into one close by.

"Shit" Her sister was not pleased about something.

"What is it Arya?" Sansa asked.

"I don't have the right bra for this dress on." Arya grumbled. Sansa smiled to herself. Arya had on one of the convertible bras, so she had nothing to worry about. "Let me see." She said.

"Trust me it has straps." Arya snapped from behind her partition.

"Let me see anyway." Sansa snapped back. She came out from her cubby and went into her sisters. As she suspected her sisters' bra was like hers and you could modify the straps. "There now, all better. Wow Arya you look really good. Beautiful even."

"You don't have to sound so shocked. I always knew that I cleaned up nice. I just never wanted to." Arya said.

"What made you change your mind?" Sansa asked.

"Jon told me that I had to let people see the me that I am on the inside. And Theon made some crack about my hair being the reason why I never had a date, so I decided to try something new." Arya mumbles as she looked at her feet. "Would you mind zipping me up please?"

Sansa was amazed that her sister had shared with her and was now asking for help. She jumped at the opportunity. Despite their close age they were not close and she had always wanted that with her sister. Doing this small thing for her was something that truly lifted her heart. Once they were both fully dressed they left the dressing area and went in search of their mother. She was standing at the reception area in her dress talking into the phone. They knew it was their father she was talking to. Her mother always had a small slight smile on her face whenever they talked. Her parents were truly in love. When she heard her girls she got off the phone and turned to them.

"Oh girls you look lovely. Sansa your hair looks so good with that dress. And Arya what did you do to your hair! It isn't bad. I am very happy that you finally let someone besides the kitchen maid trim it." Catelyn smiled and just looked at her daughters. "So we are to go to the new house. There we will get our jewelry on and collect your brothers and father. There is apparently a limo coming to collect us."

"Alright. Let's get this show on the road." Sansa said, looping her arm with her sisters and followed her mother out the door into the warm fall evening.

Bran

The Stark men were lucky that all they needed was slacks, button up shits and a jacket. Ned wore a tie and had one for Bran as well. Rickon went without the tie. They had their clothes with them. And unlike the female Starks they didn't need to get their hair done or shop. Bran helped his brother dress. He received a text from Sansa asking if he could go into her and Aryas rooms and get some earrings and two necklaces for them? Oh and two clutches from har room as well?

He trudged into their rooms and located their jewelry boxes. Arya had less of a selection. He picked a black lace choker with a deep purple crystal in it. The earrings were small silver hoops that had small diamonds on them. Jon got them for her on her last birthday. Sansa's jewelry took a little longer to pick. He picked a pair of gold earrings that dangled with a diamond at the end and a matching necklace and just for the hell of it he nicked some gold bracelets as well. He pulled out the two clutches he had been instructed to get for the girls and went to his parents' room.

"Hello father. Almost ready?"

"I can't find the earrings that your mother wants. She said to get her the sapphire ones. I don't see them."

"Let me look father. I am sure that Rickon is getting dirty without someone watching him." Bran said to his father.

"You are right son. You are a life saver." Ned left the room. Bran rifled in his mother's jewels. Her sapphire earrings were with her necklace in one box at the bottom of the case. There was also a brooch that he had seen that he felt would be appropriate. It was of a wolf with a blue stone as the eye. He grabbed it and left his parents room.

The limo was already waiting for them. Ned had Rickon by the hand. The SUV that his mother and sisters were in pulled up as he had gotten to the car. They all jumped out and hurried over to the limo.

"Thank the gods you are already dressed." Ned said in greeting as he gave Catelyn a fast kiss. "Girls you look so good. Arya is there something different with your hair?" Bran looked at his sister and didn't recognize her.

"There will be enough time to gawk at the girls in the car. Let's go. Ned did you get the jewelry that I asked for?" Catelyn asked as the ushered her family into the limo.

"Bran did. As well as the girls. And the handbags to boot." Ned chuckled as he helped his wife and daughters into the limo.

Once inside Bran handed out what he had selected to the ladies. His sisters thanked him over and over again. His mother said thank you and kissed him on the cheek. Ned noticed the wolf brooch and smiled as he pinned it onto Catelyn. They arrived at the Baratheon estate. It was a large house, as large as Winterfell. The property was large as well. There were lights everywhere. The Starks piled out of the limo as a man came to greet them.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Stark, children. This way to the party."

Myrcella

Myrcella Baratheon stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom putting the finishing touches on her outfit. She was in a pale pink dress with thick straps and a boxy neck. Her hair was pulled up and there were selected curls escaping from her up do. The hair dresser had placed small roses in her hair that matched her dress. She was not wearing heels but ballet flats. She was tall for a girl and did not want to tower over her older brother. He was a real shit when she did that to him. So she decided to not give him an excuse. Her uncle Jamie knocked on the door and let himself into her room.

"My gods you look so beautiful Myrcella. You look better then your mother."

"Thank you Uncle Jamie. I know that I could never look better then mother." She brightened and blushed at the compliment anyway. "I have something for you to wear tonight. It was your grandmothers and I feel it fitting that you should wear it." Jamie pulled out a jewelry box from his jacket pocket. He opened it and took out a slender silver chocker with pink gemstones fixed along it cut into roses.

"Oh Uncle Jamie it is gorgeous!" Myrcella breathed.

"It is platinum and pink sapphires." He said as he fastened it around her neck. She looked at her reflection one last time. The necklace was the perfect touch to finish the outfit. "I had best go find the others. The party is set to start soon." Jamie said.

"I will come with you uncle." They left her room and Tommen came barreling around the corner into them. "Tommen slow down." Myrcella exclaimed, thankful that she was not in heels after all.

"Mother and father are fighting and I wanted to find you and Uncle Jamie. One of the servants said he was with you." Tommen said, bent double gasping for breath.

"Well then by all means Tommy lead the way to them. And let's walk not run." Jamie said.

The three walked down the long halls of the Red Keep. It was the largest house in the area and it was easy to get lost. Myrcella had lived here her whole life and still took the wrong turn every now and again. They arrived at the entry way of the house and saw Robert and Cerise deep in an argument. Joffery stood leaning up against a wall and looked board. The yelling bounced off the walls and was magnified by the round room.

"Robert this is not what we had talked about. There were supposed to be fifty people coming. Now you tell me there is 150. There is no way I can make this work." Cersie yelled.

"Oh pipe down woman. I already have people on the problem. The tent is large enough to hold them all. And we have enough booze. The caterers will make it work." Robert bellowed back.

"This is not the point. It was supposed to be a small welcome party for the Starks. Not an exhibition of Baratheon money!" Cersie yelled.

"Mother, as father said things are being managed. Why don't you go with Uncle Jamie and calm down some." Myrcella said as she reached her parents side. "And father why don't you go into your study for a small glass of something to calm your nerves?"

"What a good idea my Myrcella. You always know how to fix a situation." Robert said, patting her on the shoulder with enough force to make her knees buckle. Robert strode into the rear of the entry way to his study.

"Mother are you alright?" Myrcella asked looking at her mother. Even with her barely controlled anger she was still the most stunning women in the world. She was in a emerald green dress that set her eyes off. With her rage they looked as if they were on fire. Her long hair was in an elegant French twist. Leaving her face bare and her strong cheek bones at the forefront to be seen.

"Yes darling. Thank you for stopping us before it went too far. The guests will be arriving shortly. They did not need to see us in that frame of mind." Cersie said looking at her daughter. "Is that mothers pink sapphire choker?" She looked over at Jamie.

"Yes it is. I thought that it would look good on her." Jamie said. Myrcella looked into her mother's eyes. The anger was gone, replaced by tears and pride.

"It looks perfect on you darling." She kissed Myrcella's cheek and walked to Jamie. Together they left the entry way.

"And of course the baby had to go find St. Myrcella to fix everything." Joffery sneered, pushing away from the wall, at last saying something.

"One of us had to put a stop to that." Myrcella snapped.

"Why? They are so much more entertaining when they fight. And they had almost gotten to the point of calling each other names. I rather enjoy it when they do that."

"You are an ass Joffery." Myrcella said turning her back on her brother.

"What did you just call me?" Joffery demanded.

"I called you an ass. Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Myrcella shot back.

"You will be sorry for that you little bitch." Joffery advanced to his sister with his hand raised. He was ready to strike but Myrcella stood her ground. Just as he got within range of hitting her there was a knock at the door and it swung opened. The person standing in the door took in the scene within moments.

"What do we have here?" "Uncle Tyrion!" Tommen cried, hurling himself at his uncle. "Myrcella stopped mother and father from fighting. And Joffery was mocking her, then she called him a deaf ass and he called her a bitch and then you showed up."

Tyrion looked between his older niece and nephew. "An event had indeed transpired." Myrcella felt her cheeks grow hot with a blush under her uncle's scrutiny. Then he flicked his gaze over to Joffery. Myrcella's eyes followed. Her brother was still angry. That was evident from his ragged breathing and his clenched fist. "Is that true Joffery?" Tyrion asked.

Joffery scoffed at his uncle and walked away, probably in search of a drink. In that regard he was indeed his father's son.

"You know you shouldn't taunt him Myrcella." Tyrion said wearily as he walked deeper into the house.

"I know. But I did not say anything that was untrue." Myrcella defended herself.

"Be that as it may, I advise that you watch yourself. He will not let this slight go unpunished."

"I won't uncle."

Sandor

He didn't know what he was doing. Just because Joffery snapped his fingers he was off to some stupid party to introduce some wealthy friends of his parents from the stupid North to society in the South. He wouldn't be going to go but Joffery said that there would be free booze and food there. What Joffery really wanted him for was as a whipping boy and intimidator. Sandor hated doing it, but he figured that if he didn't do it the little worm would find someone else to fill on those spots in his life that Sandor filled. He drove to the Red Keep with his music blaring and he didn't give a fuck who heard him. He had been told to arrive early and so there he was fifteen minutes before the party was going to start. He knew that to Joffery this would not be early enough. But to hell with the worm. He could squirm for all he cared.

He pulled his car into the drive. There was a limo in the drive way already. He switched the lights off on his car. He didn't want them to notice him. He saw a family disembarking the limo. The last person to get out of the car was the most stunning girl he had ever seen. He knew that she must be one of the Starks from the North. He sat in his car and watched this stunning creature walk with her family into the Red Keep.

His phone started to ring. It was the sound of a donkey braying. He knew it was Joffery, the tone of an ass for the biggest ass he knew, but he ignored it. He watched as the captivation vision walked to the house. He got one last look at her and reached for his phone.

"Where the hell are you Dog?" Joffery barked before Sandor even said hello.

"I just pulled up to the house. Traffic was a real bitch." He said into his phone with a sour look on his face.

"Well get the hell in here." Joffery snapped then hung up the phone on him.

Sandor pulled up to the house. A valet was there to take his car and Sandor went to the front door. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. He knew that he was going to see that vixen in the red dress.

Gendry

"This tent is a god danm sauna." Gendry grumbles as he and his band set up.

"It's not that hot. You are just in a foul mood because you had to bail out on a date. But this was a paying gig Gendry. So quit your bitching and set up faster." Beric barked at Gendry.

"He is right Gendry. Tonight should be the easiest 625 bucks that we have ever made. I think that I will make Myrcella a pie for suggesting our band to play tonight." Hot Pie said, more to himself then anyone in the room. He continued to set up his drum set.

Gendry went back to setting up the wires that controlled the mikes and the guitar and the base. He was pissed that he had to cancel on the date that he had been set up on by Thoros. It was Thoras's cousin and she was supposed to be very good looking. But 125 bucks was a good deal for four hours of music. He was just finishing up when he heard people approaching.

He looked up and saw the ass Joffery and a stunning girl that he had never seen before enter the tent. Next came Sandor Clegane, silent and hulking. Myrcella came next. She waved and smiled at him. He waved back. A boy entered next asking the person behind him a question. Then he turned to Myrcella.

The last person to enter was the one that took his breath away. She had curves in all the right places. Long legs and the dress that she was in made her glow. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Then he realized that she was looking right at him. He dropped the mike that he was holding giving him a reason to look away.

"Wow. They really know how to make them up North." Aegon said from next to Gendry.

Gendry cleared his throat. It had become suddenly dry.

"What? Um yes they do." He busied himself looking at what he was doing.

He had finished setting up so he went over to his guitar and pretended to clean it. He watched the girl in the purple dress. She smiled and laughed and talked to Myrcella and the boy. He assumed he was her brother. Then the three of them were on their way over to the stage.

Beric stood up from untangling wires and approached the front of the stage.

"Myrcella you look great. I have never seen someone look so good." Beric flirted. Myrcella's cheeks pinked up nicely.

"Thank you Beric. I wanted to introduce Bran and Arya Stark to you all. They will be starting school with us on Monday." Myrcella said.

"Hi. I am Beric. The singer and song writer for the band here. And over there with the drumsticks in his hands is Hot Pie. The guy with the base is Aegon. The guy with the key board is Thoros. He also plays guitar sometimes too. And our lead guitarist is Gendry. He is over there sitting on the speaker." Beric introduced his band.

"Brandon Stark. But I go by Bran." Bran stuck his hand out. Beric shook his hand.

"Arya" was all the girl in the purple dress said. Her voice was heaven to Gendrys ears. It was raspy and sweet at the same time. It reminded him of a wolf pack howling together. He realized that she was staring into his eyes as she said her name.

With that one word and that one look Gendry "The Bull" Waters lost his heart to Arya Stark.


	5. The South Welcoms the Starks

Sansa

When she had been at Winterfell she had never felt uncomfortable talking to people. It was partly because she had known them since she was a child and the second was that they were like she was, a Northerner. The followed the same logic she did. They knew the same places she knew. They were familiar and known. When she entered the Red Keep she finally realized she would have to meet new people. Sansas palms grew moist and a faint flush started to creep up her cheeks. She slowed her steps and was the last one to approach the door to the large imposing house. She stood there on the steps breathing evenly and collecting her now fanatic and scattered thoughts.

Her solitude was broken by the rumble of a car. She watched as a valet scurried from his hiding place and went to the door of the car. A tall figure was unfolding from the small confines of the vehicle. Sansa didn't want to be caught all alone, there by being forced to meet someone on her own. If she was with her family there would be safety in numbers. She had just slipped into the house and then she heard a knock on the door. The door man looked at her. She just stood there, her breath rate speeding up. There was another knock at the door, this time a little louder. Still she stood there. The doorman cleared his throat and she looked over at him. She took a slight step the side to allow the man to do his job.

"About time." A harsh voice grunted.

Sansa shrank even more to the side of the small area. The knocker entered the house. His arm brushed her arm and he stopped moving. He looked down at her. She held her breath. Her face was mask of shock for being in the very situation that she wanted to avoid at all costs. A look of surprise crossed the newcomer's face, which he quickly schooled into a mask of cool indifference and boredom. He didn't move and neither did she. They looked at each other.

"Sansa! What the hell are you doing at the door?" Her sister's voice broke the trance Sansa and the stranger seemed to be trapped in.

Sansa was thankful that her little sister had no tact at this one moment in her life.

"Um, I was…" Sansa stuttered.

"She was introducing herself to me." The hulking figure beside her said, coming to her rescue. "Sandor Clegane." He turned to look her fully in the face for the first time.

Sansa's eyes grew a little large and the look of shock on her face returned. One half of his face appeared to be scared. The perfection of his non-scared side stood out in perfect contrast with the reined side. She finally remembered her manners. She felt like she had been looking at his face longer then was polite, when in actuality it had been less then a second, and stuck her hand out to shake his.

"Sansa Stark." Sansa said in a soft voice.

She released his hand. For someone with his size and obvious strength he had been very gentile with her hand.

"Arya, her sister. Do we want to move this little meet and greet we have going on here away from the door? That poor man there looks like he wants to shut the door." Arya said.

Sandor and Sansa nodded their heads and both stepped away from the door at the same time. Their arms were still slightly touching. There was a tingle in Sansas arm where they were connected. Arya had already turned away from them and went to the small group in the center of the room. They followed, a bit more slowly.

"I'm sorry for at the door." Sansa said, looking at the assembled group, noting the new faces and her palms grew sweaty yet again.

"What are you blabbing about?" Sandor asked looking down at the top of her head.

"I was standing in front of it. I didn't want to move away and have to meet any new people." Sansa was shocked at herself for having told this stranger that.

He chuckled and asked "What were you planning on doing? Staying in front of the door all night so no one could get in?"

Sansa smiled up at him. "Something like that."

They walked the rest of the way to the awaiting group of her family and the Baratheon and Lannisters.

"There you are Sansa. And who is the young man that you seem to have found?" Her father asked.

"Father this is Sandor Clegane."

Sandor shook hands with Eddard. Ned didn't react to his scars the way that her mother did, Sansa noted. There also appeared to be a slight flex in both her fathers hand and Sandors as well.

"About time you get here Hound." A slightly high pitched male voice intoned. Sandor let go of Ned's hand, and looked over to the owner of the voice. Sansas eyes followed.

The voice belonged to a taller then average youth. She assumed that this had to be Joffery Baratheon. He was in black slacks and a blood red button up shirt with a jacket on over it. He had blond hair cut short to his head. There was a nasty sneer on his face that made her slightly uneasy. She unconsciously moved slightly closer to Sandor. There was just something in the eyes of Joffery that was more off putting to her then the scars on Sandors face. Even though Joffery was good looking he seemed to be trying too hard to hide who he was, and it escaped out of his eyes.

"Sansa you missed the introductions to the Baratheons." Catelyn was saying to Sansa.

She tore her gaze from the boy in front of her and looked at her mother.

"This is Robert, Cersie, Joffery, Tommen and Myrcella Baratheon." Sansa looked in turn at each person indicated. The only person of the group that seemed to have kind eyes was the girl Myrcella.

"How do you do?" Sansa said in greeting.

"What the perfect little lady." Joffery said stepping forward to offer her his hand.

"Thank you." She said shaking his hand. His grip was harsh and like a vice. She winced and was a spark of happiness light his eyes.

"Children why don't you go out to the mar key and see if it is all set up out there." Cersie said.

"I don't want to go to the big tent mother. I want to explore." Rickon said looking up at his mother.

"What a splendid idea Rickon. Why doesn't Tommen show you to the arcade?" Robert boomed. The two young boys looked at each other and both made a run for the stairs.

"This way my lady." Joffery said. He offered his arm to Sansa. She felt obligated to take it. She knew that the only way to get in with the popular crowd was with this creepy guy, so she took his arm and held her head high with a smile lighting her face.

Bran

The house was magnificent. He knew that Stark Manor was larger and older then this Red Keep, but it was still impressive. He followed his parents. Ned and Catelyn were holding hands. Rickon was clinging onto Arya. Bran was looking around with interest. The décor was superb. He looked at the stairs and there were six golden haired people and one large dark haired man. He assumed that this was the Baratheon clan. At first glance he assumed that there was an extra child present. Then he realized the person he thought was a child was Cersie Lannisters younger brother Tyrion. And the golden haired man was Jamie, Cersie twin brother. The offspring of Robert and Cersie were together to one side below their mother. Robert was in a suit and looked blotted and slovenly. The rest of the group looked pristine.

"Eddard Stark you son of a bitch." Robert bellowed. "It has been to long. Come here and give me a hug." Robert stumbled down the stairs to Ned.

Ned walked up to his friend. They embraced and gave each other the manly slaps on the back. They had a fast conversation. There were nods between the two men.

"Catelyn that dress is stunning. And Arya isn't it? You look beautiful. May I introduce my children?" Cersie said walking down the stairs. Her children followed like a line of ducks behind her. "May I introduce Joffery, Myrcella and Tommen." When each name was announced the owner of the name stepped up and nodded in hello.

"Pleased to meet you all. May I introduce Rickon, Arya, Bran and Sansa?" Catelyn said.

"You seem to be missing a daughter Catelyn. It appears that Sansa is not with her siblings." Joffery sneered.

Bran glared at the fool for the tone he used when he addressed his mother. Then he looked behind him and saw Sansa at the door. A large figure beside her.

"I will go get her mother." Arya volunteered. She went off to fetch their sister.

Tommen and Rickon were already in conversation. Giggles were heard coming from them. He heard a soft pat of feet approaching him.

"Are you interested in architecture?" A soft voice asked him as he was looking at the celling. Bran looked down from the top of the room. A striking girl was in front of him. She was in pale pink and had a small smile tugging at her lips.

"I am. I like to know how things are made and how things work. This area is room is perfectly balanced."

"Oh Bran I hope you are not lecturing Myrcella already." Aryas dry voice said from behind him.

Myrcella gave a small chuckle and Bran decided that he liked this girl. The three stood together while Sansa was caught up with who was who.

"Children why don't you go to the mar key and see if everything is ready?" Cersie said.

Bran watched as the younger boys scampered away. He watched as Sansa took Jofferys arm and walked to the door leading to the back of the house. The guy named Sandor followed close behind.

"Come on you two. There is a great band playing tonight. In fact they all go to school with us." Myrcella started after her brother and Brans sister.

"We are right behind you." Arya said.

Bran was curious to note that she sounded chipper, almost eager.

Sandor

The sniveling worm was leading the vixen around the house. His chest was puffed out like he was the reason all the wealth was there. Sandor wanted to smack that look off the creeps face. He had seen that look on Jofferys face before. He wanted something from the girl. She was probably as stupid and blind as all the others that Joffery used and abused. Once he got what he wanted he would throw her away. He heard the other three children following.

Part of him wanted to slow down and let them catch up with him and join in their conversation. He had always liked Myrcella. She was the only real one in the entire family. And the best part was that she didn't put up with her worm of a brothers shit like everyone else did. He always defended the girl. The two other Starks seemed to be alright. The boy seemed to see everything and analyze it all at the same time. He was one of those people who kept one foot in the real world and the other in one of his own creation, but he was fully aware of what was going on in both. The other Stark girl was something different. She didn't know what she wanted to be. She had a tough exterior and a quick wit that she used as both a weapon and a defense. But there was more to her, she just had to find it.

Sansa was someone he wanted to get to know. When she told him that she was afraid of new people he felt pleased that she had opened up to him. Because he was in fact a stranger. And to top it all off he was damaged. His looks could be said to leave something lacking for most people. But she looked at him. Really looked at him. His arm still tingled where they had touched. He had never felt that before. He had had his share of experience with the opposite sex. He knew all about the bodies reactions when arousal was involved. The gods knew that this girl caused that reaction in him. That dress that she was in should be illegal. There was a definitely something very ridged about him that was not so unyielding half an hour ago. There was more to her then just the response that she was causing him. He felt the need to protect her. He would do that, no matter what happened or who got in the way.

"Hound keep up." Shouted at him from over his shoulder.

"Why do you call Sandor that?" Sansa asked.

"Why don't you answer that one Dog?" Joffery said to Sandor.

"I would rather not. You made this name, not me." Sandor said. There was no infliction in his voice.

"I call him that because he is as faithful to me as a well-trained dog." Joffery laughed to himself.

Sandor saw a look of disgust cross Sansas face when she looked at Joffery. Hope surged in Sandors being. But then he watched as the sweet simpering look reappeared on Sansas face. She was a good actress. She had an agenda that she wanted to keep. She had a goal. She was calculating something in her mind. He needed to find out more about this girl if he was going to protect her. He would protect her even from herself. Watching her he knew that this was going to be harder job then he wanted.

Arya

Arya was really starting to like Myrcella Baratheon. She was spunky and smart and said what she was thinking. They really didn't have anything in common. They liked different music, movies, books. But they were starting to form a connection. Bran was watching her as she and Myrcella chatted about clothes. Myrcella offered to take her shopping and Arya found herself saying yes. She even suggested taking Sansa along too. Brans eyes almost popped out of his head and he choked on air.

"Bran are you okay?" Myrcella asked, concern coloring her voice.

"I was just trying to imagine Arya shopping. I have never seen her shop before." Bran stuttered.

"What do you mean? She had to shop. Didn't you?" Myrcella turned and looked between Arya and Bran.

"Well I kind of stole my brothers clothing. I don't really have anything that is made for girls except for underwear." Aryas face colored a bright pink.

"You have to be kidding. I can't believe that it's true." Myrcella was shocked.

"I would be surprised if she picked out this dress." Bran said. "Sansa probably picked it. And you should have seen her hair. She used to only let the kitchen maid cut it."

Myrcella was looking at Arya as if she had two heads. Arya was used to getting looks like that. She was getting ready to have the budding friendship that was developing between her and Myrcella to come to an end now.

"We will just have to remedy that. You have fifteen years of shopping to make up for and I am just the girl to help you do it." Myrcella said.

Then she threw back her head and laughed. Arya joined in with the laughter. It was Brans turn to look confused. They made it to the tent that the actual party would be taking place in. It was decorated in crimson and gold. Sansa matched the parties' décor. She saw Sansas face when she realized that she matched the parties themed coloring. There were fifteen to twenty round tables with eight to ten chairs at each. The end that Sansa, Joffery and Sandor were at had a bar. Both boys had glasses on their hands. Arya suspected that they had booze in them. On the opposite side of the bar there was a guys were setting up musical equipment. Myrcella waved and dragged them up to the stage.

"Myrcella you look great. I have never seen someone look so good." One of the guys flirted. Myrcella's cheeks pinked up nicely.

"Thank you Beric. I wanted to introduce Bran and Arya Stark to you all. They will be starting school with us on Monday." Myrcella said.

"Hi. I am Beric. The singer and song writer for the band here. And over there with the drumsticks in his hands is Hot Pie. The guy with the base is Aegon. The guy with the key board is Thoros. He also plays guitar sometimes . And our lead guitarist is Gendry. He is over there sitting on the speaker." Beric introduced his band.

"Brandon Stark. But I go by Bran." Bran stuck his hand out. Beric shook his hand.

Arya was looking all the nice specimens of a cross section of what the male population looked like at Kings Landing. The singer was nice to look at, but there was something to soft in his eye. The one Hot Pie kid was pudgy and he had a big smile plastered all over his face. Thoros was muscular and nice, but not Aryas type. The last two, Aegon and Gendry were more then pleasant to look at. But they couldn't look more different. They had the same body type. Tall, muscular, sexy as hell. But their coloring was completely different. Aegon was light from his hair to his eyes. Gendry had dark hair and dark blue eyes.

"Arya." She finally choked out. She had her eyes locked with Gendry. Then she flicked them over to Aegon. She looked at her feet.

"So what are you going to be playing tonight?" Myrcella asked.

"A little bit of everything." Beric said. "The official set list is a surprise." He wiggled his eyebrow at the girls.

Gendry

Gendry watched as Myrcella led her guests to the opening of the tent. Other people were starting to arrive. Gendry couldn't keep his eyes off Arya. Aegon came over to him, he was absentmindedly playing his base.

"She is really something. I noticed that she took her time looking at you. But I noticed that she did the same thing with me. What do think?"

"I think we need to start playing. Let's just do the job we are paid to do." Gendry snarled.

"All right. You don't have to bite my head off. I get it, you wanted to get lucky tonight. Who knows you might. This is a party. But I am calling dibs on Arya." Aegon said as he walked away from Gendry.

The vein in Gendrys neck and forehead were bulging and pulsating. He wasn't aware that Beric had introduced the band. He was not aware that they had started to play. He was lucky his hands and body knew what he was doing. He played his parts, but he wasn't paying any attention. He had a steady chant going on in his head. It went along the lines of "I will not kill one of my best friends. I will not beat him to death with his base." He was acting irrational. He knew that he just couldn't help it. By the end of the first song the internal chant changed to "Don't look at her. Don't look at her ass, or her chest, or her legs, or her smile." His chanting alternated between the two the entire party.

Myrcella

The party was fun for a change. Usually she was stuck being around her brother's lackeys and clinger oners. She hated that. She didn't really have any true friends because as soon as her brother noticed that she was getting close to someone he would step in and taint the relationship and things would never be the same. She was happy that Joffery hadn't noticed that she and Arya and Bran were having a good time together. But she was also concerned. Because the reason for Joffery's disinterest was due to Sansa.

She wanted to warn the older Stark girl about her brother. But she was afraid that she wouldn't believe her like so many others before her. She tried to push it out of her mind. She was going to have one night of fun. One night where she was not the referee, or the peace keeper, of the saint of her family. She was going to be a 15 year old girl. Her uncle Renly and his not so secret special friend Loras showed up right before the band started to play. Loras' sister Margaery was with them as well. She made a b-line for Joffery and his group. She was in his class after all. Myrcella liked the girl and she hoped that Margery would watch out for Sansa.

"My darling niece you have never looked better in your entire life." Renly said as he kissed her cheek.

"Thank you Uncle. Have you met Bran and Arya?" She asked as she held both of Renlys hands.

"I have not had the pleasure of meeting these two Starks." He said turning to them. "I just met your parents again. I knew them when I was a child. And I have met your older brothers through college. Theon is a very interesting fellow. Very intense."

"He is. But if he was any other way he would not be the same Theon then." Arya said.

Myrcella looked from her little group to scan the gathering. There were not the 150 people her father had boasted about. Her guess was that there were around 75. She had a sneaking suspicion that he had just made up that number to get her mother angry. She looked at the stage. Her friends were playing really good. She knew that the list of songs that her mother had given them was not their normal sound but they were making strange pop songs from the 80's sound modern and cool. She noticed that both Gendry and Aegon had not stopped looking at Arya.

Myrcella was a little sad about that. She had a crush on both of them. But she was in the friend zone with the both of them. If they liked her new friend she wasn't going to hold it against her. There was a loud crashing sound from the direction of the bar.

"You blind fool!" Myrcellas heart stopped. Her brother was starting something. "You did that on purpose." Joffery shirked.

A waitress was on the ground surrounded by broken glasses form the tray that she had been caring. Joffery looked as if he was going to hit the poor girl.

"Do you know how much this jacket alone cost! More then you make in a year" He was starting to build into a rage.

Myrcella was making her way to her brother to try and quell his anger on a different tarter, her.

"It was not her fault Joffery. I saw what happened. She was bumped. I didn't see who bumped her. But it was not her fault. It was an accident." Sansa said, stepping between the girl and Joffery.

Myrcella held her breath, edging closer to her brother and Sansa Stark. Either Sansa was very brave or very stupid. When Myrcella was closer to them she noticed that Sandor had moved so that if need be he could intervene if things got uglier then they already were. To her shock, and everyone else, Joffery seemed to collect himself and his anger vanished.

"Well if you say it was an accident Sansa I believe you. No real harm done. Hound help the poor girl up from the floor. If you will excuse me Sansa I have to go change." Joffery walked out of the tent.

Myrcella was stunned that things did not escalate, that he had taken Sansas word and not retaliated on the spot anyway. That was not like her brother at all. She knew that he was up to something. She turned to follow him. The talk of the party had returned and the band started to play again. She again thanked the gods that she was in flats and that she was a dancer so she moved without a sound.

"I want that little bitch punished. I will make her pay for humiliating me that way she did. Find out who she is. I owe her some pay back." Joffery said to one of the Meryn Trant, one of his fellow football players. "I have to go change my fucking shirt. I hope that twit Sansa liked the show I put on for her." Joffery cackled with Trant up to the house.

Myrcella stood rooted to the spot. She couldn't move. She had to warn the girl, worn Sansa, she had to do something. But her body would not respond to her commands. So she just stood there. One night to be normal that is all she wanted. The gods couldn't even give her that. Two tears escaped her eyes as she stood in the dark with a party going on behind her.

**A/N so this one took work. I wanted to show everyone that Joffery is a dick and that he is evil, but I don't want to show the extent yet. Keep with me. I have the next five chapters edited. So I will get them up. I really love fixing this story and fixing these characters. It is great for me and I hope that it is great for you all to.**


	6. School Clothes and Boys

Gendry

He felt like he was hangover when he woke up on Monday. He also felt a little like a stalker. He had spent the weekend doing a little recon on the allusive Arya Stark. There was no real mystery surrounding her, but he still liked to think of her as allusive. They had not bad new students at Kings Landing in a long time. So even though there was no reason to think of her as allusive that is the word he associated with her.

After the scene that Joffery made the atmosphere of the party had been a little on edge. Beric had tried to make the mood lighter and they played 80's pop music to lighten that fake mood. Margaery Tyrell had dragged as many people she could out onto the dance floor. She started to dance and so did the group that she forced on the floor. Sansa Stark was there with a smile on her face when Joffery came back to the tent. Myrcella came back and dragged both Bran and Arya onto the floor with her. Gendry had watched Arya move and shake it with Myrcella and he could not take his eyes off her. He watched her like a thirsty man watches ice water in the hands of the devil. He felt a surge of electricity flash in his body when he would look up and see her looking at him. He also felt deep rage when he noticed that she was looking at Aegon as well.

He returned to his house after the party in a foul mood. He tried to sleep but was unable to. He lay in his bed and he couldn't get his mind off Arya. Restless energy surged in his body. He got up off his bed and went to his computer. He opened a new window and put the name Arya Stark into the search engine and a few hits popped up. He clicked on them, but most of them only said that she was Eddard and Catelyn Stark's third biological child and their second daughter. He was not able to find any images of her so he looked her up on Facebook. Her page was private and so he sent her a friend request. He finally went to bed around 2 in the morning.

Saturday she had accepted as his friend request. He was able to see what she was like. There were pictures of her on her page! He was shocked to see that the girl in the photos looked nothing like the girl he saw at the party. Then he found a picture of her from the party. She had her arm linked with Myrcella and they were laughing and smiling. He stopped his cyber stalking and got down to work on his homework. He wrote a paper on Hamlet, did some Algebra, and then played some video games. It was a good day. It was made even better when he ordered pizza and watched a Godfather Marathon.

Sunday was a slow day for him. Aegon called him to go out with the guys and they went to their usual hangout spot. It was a 50's themed diner. They had burgers and told jokes. Gendry was feeling better and lighter then he had all weekend. Then his foul mood returned. Arya Stark walked past their hangout spot. She smiled at them in recognition. She was shopping. That was evident from the bags hanging off her arms. She stopped to wait for whoever she was with. She looked into the shop and saw him. She smiled and waved. Her sister and Myrcella and Margaery caught up with her and dragged her off to do more shopping he suspected.

"I haven't been able to get out of my mind all weekend." Aegon said as she walked away. "I think on Monday I am going to ask her for her number."

"It has been a while since you showed any interest in a girl." Hot Pie said. He was sitting at a booth reading a cookbook.

Gendry looked over at Hot Pie. He did not want him to encourage Aegon in his quest for Arya. But there was really nothing he could do about it. Gendry sighed. His friend had called dibs. But damn it he wanted her too.

He went home that night in a depressed mood and went and started to tinker in his garage. He always felt better when he had his hands covered in grease from his car. He popped his hood and just looked at the internal workings of what made a car a car. Already his mood had improved. He decided that he would give his car an oil change at school Monday. He was looking forward to the start of the week. He went to bed but he couldn't sleep. He was up most of the night tossing and turning. When he does dream he dreams of her. Some of them were good and happy; others made him wake up in rage and was breathing hard. In those dreams Aegon is with Arya. After the third one of those dreams he was unable to sleep. He spent the remainder of the night tossing and turning. So when he finally pulled himself out of bed he had half an hour to get dressed and get to school. The day was going to be hell.

Arya

Monday came blaring in to reality way to early for Aryas liking. Her alarm was blaring the tone of bagpipes for some strange reason. She flung her pillow at it. She figured that Rickon had changed it the day before when she had been out shopping with Sansa, Myrcella and Margaery. She hated shopping, and the tampering with her alarm just reinforced her hatred of the thing. She was in the mood to kill whoever changed it when it started up again.

She had been up most of last night tossing and turning. She had for the first time in her memory set out what she was going to wear for the start of the school day. She had gotten a substantial amount of clothes over the weekend. Saturday she went with just her mother. She had enjoyed shopping with her, until she had pulled her hair up into a ponytail and her mother had seen that she had dyed parts of the bottom layer purple without telling her about it. They had had one of their fights that ended up with both of them not speaking to each other. Her father didn't understand why Catelyn was so angry. He said that they always wanted Arya to do something with her hair and now Catelyn was mad that Arya had done what they wanted her to do, they should be happy not mad. After that comment both Arya and Eddard were in the dog house with Catelyn.

Sunday was a completely different experience. The girls took her first to the ruffles and pastel clothing shops, but they soon realized that there was "no way in hell" that Arya would put "any of that crap" on her body. The next few shops were more to her liking. She found colors she liked, and she was shown how to get things that fit her body type and how to show off her figure. She got things for everyday and school and for going out. She was shown that shoes were not the enemy and was persuaded that heels were not a death sentence. She came home with eight pairs of shoes, half of them heels.

The last thing she learned about was underwear. Arya knew that the girls had kept that shop until the end. She never knew that there was different underwear for different kinds of outfits, or that they came in so many different colors and patterns. She got a little of everything. The thing that she liked best was her push up bra. It made her b cups look like a large c. She never guessed that a bra could help out that much. She couldn't wait to see how people reacted to her.

Arya flung the blankets off and shuffled off to the closest bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. She had a routine that she always did before school and she fell into it very easily. There were some alterations to the routine today. After her shower she blow-dried her hair then used her curling iron to flip the ends up, just like the girl in the salon showed her. She had convinced her sister to take her back to the salon they had been to and she had more purple put in her hair. She put makeup on as well. Eye liner and shadow. Then she used mascara and pocked herself in the eye. She put on a lip gloss last. She had always prided herself that she had a great completion and had never had to use a face base. She gave her face and hair a once over and walked back to her room. She changed into the outfit that she had picked. She slid into the black skinny jeans with a pair of mid-calf boots with a modest 2 inch heel. She put on a white tee shirt over her deep purple tank top that matched her bra. Then she threw on a fitted vest with thin silver stripes. She grabbed a light weight jacket. At the last moment she snagged a scarf and was out the door to go down to breakfast. For the first time she felt ready for school. She had decided not to be a nobody here and she was going to do that. She was going to be a somebody.

Sansa

Sansa had always been a morning person. She was up, showered, dressed and groomed to perfection before anyone else was moving around in the house. She nervously paced her room and then rechecked that she had everything that she would need for the first day at the new school. When she couldn't stand being in her room she went down stairs and waited in the kitchen. The cook, Mrs. Clark, was there making breakfast.

"Good morning Sansa. What do you want for breakfast this morning? The usual Stark breakfast of the works, or yogurt and granola with a cup of tea."

"Can I get a poached egg and whole wheat toast? I can get my own tea." Sansa said.

"Of course dear. I will have that for you in a jiffy. Are you excited about the first day of school?" Mrs. Clark asked.

"A little. I am glad that I have gotten to know some of my classmates already. I do not think that I would be able to walk in there and not know anyone." Sansa said as she steeped her tea in the cup.

"You have always been a timid little dove. You don't let on all to often, but it is true. I have known you your entire life. I remember your first day at preschool. You screamed when you got to the car door and made Robb and your mother stay with you all day until you made a friend. You are doing much better this time around dear. So what classes have they put you in here? Anything interesting?"

"I have chemistry II, advanced trig, advanced government, French, advanced creative writing, gymnastics, journalism and photography. They put all the fun classes in the afternoon and the difficult ones first thing in the morning. I don't know if I will be able to survive." Sansa said with a wistful smile on her lips.

"Gosh that work load sounds like it could kill a person. Are you going to try cheerleading?" Mrs. Clark asked.

"I am. I have my meeting with the coach this afternoon after school." Sansa smiled. She very much wanted to be on a cheer team again.

"It sounds like you need a good start to the day. Here is your breakfast. I want to see it all gone and the slices of peaches too. I want you to eat it all." Mrs. Clark said as she set the plate down.

"Yes ma'am." Sansa said as she started to eat her food despite the fact her nerves were making her stomach twist. She looked out the window. It over looked the pool area. It was still warm in the South. If they had been the North the idea of a pool would be completely crazy. They had an indoor pool at Stark Manor, but the idea of an outdoor pool still impressed her. She could not wait until she could lay out in tone sun by the pool. She pictured Joffery beside her. But she wasn't thrilled with that idea then Sandor was in her day dream instead. She liked Sandor but he wouldn't help her win the Prom Queen crown. she decided that a day dream couldn't hurt and it made her smile so she went with it.

She had eaten all her breakfast and was drinking her tea, and telling Mrs. Clark about taking Arya into Victoria's Secret, when her mother and father came into the kitchen. Ned had the Stark Special and Catelyn had half a grapefruit and dry toast. They both took coffee and were both silently reading the papers while they ate their food. Sansa smiled as she noticed that with their free hands they were clasp under the papers. She loved that her parents showed affection to each other. Rickon came tearing into the room, chattering with Mrs. Clark about some kind of cartoon that he was excited to watch after school. Bran shuffled in. Despite his huge intellect he was not a morning person. Mrs. Clark put a bowl of cereal in front of him and he grunted his thanks. When there was ten minutes to go before they were supposed to leave Arya breezed down for a bite. Catelyn looked over at her second daughter and Sansa saw her mothers lips go thin. Ned spoke before his wife can ask Arya anything.

"I am taking you kids to school today on my way to the office. Let's get going now. I don't want to be late." Ned said.

Sansa was out of the kitchen and on her way to the car with her bag before the rest had left their chairs. Her palms were sweating and she had knots in her stomach. She hoped that her breakfast would stay down. This was so much worse then her first day of preschool.

Sandor

He was sitting in the parking lot waiting for school to start. He was happy to go to school for the first time in as long a time as he could remember. He had had a good weekend for a change. He had stopped Joffery in his attempt to retaliate against the waitress for her accident by giving him a false name for the girl. He spent an enjoyable time at his home alone reading The Greats of Wrath, one of his favorite books. Best of all he had seen how Sansa had looked at Joffery at the party when he let his perfect mask slip. Joff had let the monster that lurks under the surface out to play. She had a look of disgust and anger on her face when Joffery had tried to attack that poor girl. He knew, just knew that Sansa would not want anything to do with the worm. He hoped he saw her today. Sandor had forgotten how to hope. But he found himself doing just that.

He saw the Stark family pull up and the vixen and her siblings filed out of a big SUV. The three stood there looking at the school. Sandor looked at it too. He guessed to someone who had never been there before would find it intimidating. He got out of his car and started to walk to the Starks. He looked at the girl who had peeked his interest. Her red hair was pulled into a high pony tail. Her face was clean and he drank it in. But then he let his eyes take in the rest of her and that was just as mouth watering. She had on a pale yellow skirt and a light green cardigan. He figured that the skirt had to have some kind of green design on it to toe the outfit together.

He never tore his gaze off her as he walked away from his car swords her. Sandor was almost to her when he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that Joffery had sauntered over to Sansa and took her arm. She has not pulled away, she had allowed him to take her elbow and lead her into the wave of students. The anger that washed into him was crippling. He wanted to hit something or someone. He wanted to smash his massive fist into that worms stomach. He forced himself to calm down. It was not an easy task.

The high he had been feeling all weekend had vanished in seconds. Sandor just stood there and couldn't understand what was happening. Maybe he was wrong about the vixen. Maybe she was just a stupid girl after all. He was insane for thinking Sansa Stark was any different then the rest of them. He felt like a fool, and he hated feeling like a fool. He shuffled into school and went to his locker with his customary scowl on his face. People got out of his way. He stowed his bag and grabbed his books. He walked into his chem class and noticed something new.

Sansa was standing at the front of the class talking to the teacher. He cursed on the inside. This was not who he wanted to see after what he had seen with Joffery. He went to his usual table and sat down. He opened his book and pretended to read it. He watched Sansa thou the curtain of his long hair. He saw the teacher nod in the direction of his table. He knew that she would sit by him.

"Hello Sandor. Can I sit with you? I don't know anyone here and I don't think I could start the day off sitting next to a complete stranger." She smiled at him.

"Sure." He felt his anger melting. "I remember that you don't like strangers." He scooted his books over had so she would have a place to sit.

"Thank you so much. Is this class hard?" She asked sliding into the chair next to him.

"Yes it is. Were you taking it at Winterfell?" He asked.

"Yes I was. I liked it but there were some things that I didn't understand." She admitted.

"I am pretty good at this stuff. If you need any help I can help you." Sandor said. Her face was tilted up looking up at him. There was a sweet smile on her lips. He couldn't believe that he had just done that. He was good, but not that good at chem.

"Thank you so much. I probably ask you to help me catch up with where the class is." She said. "When class is over could you show me where my next class is? I don't think I will be able to find my way around here."

"Sure. Can I see your schedule? I could check and see if we have any other classes together." He really wanted to know what classes she was taking.

"Yes. Here you go." Sansa handed over her schedule over. Sandor looked over her schedule. She had five classes with him. He was thankful that she was smart. This way she would have less of a chance to get to be around the worm or his roving hands. He was going to tell he which classes they had together but the teacher called the class to order. Instead he took his pencil and marked which ones they had together. He looked over at her when he slid the paper over to her. She glanced down at it and smiled. His hope returned. There may be a chance for him after all. Today was looking up.

**A/N Will you review me? Let me know if you all like this one? Okay done with that. Editing is interesting. Stay with me. **


	7. First Day in a New Town

Bran

He was grumpy and tired. Bran was never a morning person, and today reminded everyone this was true. He wanted to be sleeping. He rode in silence while his father drove him to school with his siblings. Bran never understood why school had to start so early. There was nothing wrong with the idea of school starting up at noon in his opinion. But that was not the way of things. No one was really talking as they drove. When they got to Rickons school he jumped out and ran to Tommen Baratheon. Then they were off to Kings Landing High. Ned pulled up to the front and Bran got out of the car and waited for his sisters.

"I will be picking you up after school. If something comes up call me or your mother." Ned said to his children before driving away.

"Why is it so bright here?" Arya asked as the sun flashed down at them.

"Closer to the equator then we were back home." Bran answered as he turned to look up the school.

"Sansa, there you are." Joffery Baratheon came over to the trio of Starks. "I have been looking for you. I was going to show you to your class."

"Oh thank you Joffery." Sansa said. She plastered a smile on her face as she let Joffery lead her into the school.

"Come on encyclopedia boy. Let's get in to this place and get some knowledge." Arya said when Sansa was no longer in view.

"What has made you so chipper? Usually you are as grumpy as I am in the morning. And I know that you were up early too. You did yourself up for school." Bran said. He looked his sister over and she had even put make-up on. She never did that in Winterfell.

"I am excited. That is all. I get to take my art and auto classes." Arya replied. She blushed and he suspected there was more that she was saying.

Bran knew how much his sister wanted to take those classes. He was just as excited to start his classes to. He was taking all advanced classes. He couldn't wait to see if they challenged him here. For fun he was taking a theater class as well as intro to psych. Theater was his first class. He wanted to have his more challenging classes in the afternoon when he was fully awake and his brain was function completely. So he had theater, English, German, psych in the morning and history, math, and science in the afternoon.

"I will follow you. I don't know where I am going." Bran said.

"I don't know either." Arya said. Just then a boy and a girl walked over to them.

"Hi there. My name is Meera Reed, this is my brother Jojen. Are you new here?" The girl asked.

"Yes we are new. Arya Stark. This is my brother Bran. We need some directions to our first classes." Arya said.

"I'm sure we can help. We both have theater first period, but we can show you where to go." Meera said.

"I have theater first too. Arya has art." Bran said. He was slightly surprised at how friendly this girl was.

"Cool. The art studio class is on the way to the theater." Meera said. "This way." She led them into the school.

"How old are you?" Jojen asked when they tried to ford the sea of students.

"I'm thirteen. I will be 14 at the end of January. Arya is 15. Her birthday is in June." Bran answered.

"You are young. What did you do jump a grade?" Jojen asked.

"Yeah. I guess I am super smart. They bumped me up." Bran said.

Meera showed Arya to class leaving Jojen to take Bran to the theater. It was a small theater compared to what he imagined it would be. There was a white board in the center of the stage where a figure that he recognized stood there writing.

"Is that Renly Baratheon?" Bran asked.

"Yeah. He works here part time. He is a student teacher. He's pretty cool. A little weird, but cool none the less." Jojen said.

Bran walked up to the stage and went up to his teacher. "Mr. Baratheon? I need you to sign this." Bran said at Renlys side.

"Bran! I saw your name on the roster today. I am very happy to have you. And please call me Renly. I'm a student teacher. It means I'm not a real teacher yet." Renly man had a smile on his face a mile wide. Bran thought he would be a drab man as a teacher, but he was jovial.

Renly signed the slip of paper and handed it back to Bran. Bran walked off the stage and took his seat in the audience.

Arya

Meera Reed walked her to class, and Arya tried to memorize the route she took, but it was impossible. There were to many hallways for her to follow. Once to her class Meera went off to her own. Arya stopped at the door and peered in. There were easels and pottery wheels scattered all around. She walked over to the desk of the teacher. She handed her the slip that she was supposed to have all her teachers sign. She had to stay there and talk to the teacher about her art. Arya pulled out her sketch book. It was to judge her level for her class load. She had known to bring the book, so she had. No one had seen these pictures before. There were pictures of her family that she drew. None of them knew of the sketch book, but she had it. She also showed the teacher photos of the paintings that she had done as well. The teacher was impressed with her work. She showed her to a work station and let her get to work as she felt fit. Apparently she was deemed as an advanced student and given certain freedoms.

"Hello." A deep voice said from her right.

Arya looked over and sucked in her breath. Standing next to her area was one of the most interesting men she had ever seen. He had short hair, but it was two different colors, red and white. His face was in perfect balance and she couldn't tell what his eye color was. He was muscular but not overtly so. He gave off the vibe of feline grace and confidence. There was a paint brush in his hand and a smudge of cornflower blue on his cheek.

"Hi." Arya said. She shyly dropped his gaze.

"What are you going to paint lovely girl?" He asked.

"Um I don't know yet." She said as she turned away from him to look at her blank canvas. She felt a little of her normal bold self surface and she looked back over to her right. He was still looking at her.

"A girl must know what she is going to paint. A lovely girl such as you should feel what she is going to paint. I am Jaqen H'ghar. I am a senior here and the student aid for the class. If you need assistance just ask and I will assist you." The man said.

All Arya could do is look at him. She felt her fingers tingling. She wanted to wipe the paint off his cheek. There was something pulling her to this man. What was it with this place? She had been South for four whole days and she sees three highly attractive men that are nice and show her more interest in her then she has had ever had in her entire life back in Winterfell. What was it about her in this place? Arya turned to her work station and thought about what she would paint. All she felt like painting was trees and home. She got her paint out and closed her eyes for a moment. She started out with a pencil outline. Then she went on to painting. She had not gotten very far when the bell rang.

"A girl can paint." Jaqen said from directly behind her. She jumped, but she still felt the heat of another body behind her.

"I have a name you know." She snapped. She was unnerved at how she was reacting to him.

"I do not know what it is so you are a girl until you name yourself." Jaqen said.

"Arya. I'm Arya Stark." She answered. "What is your next class Arya Stark?" He asked her.

"Advanced poetry. I needed a writing credit, and all the other writing classes looked dull." She said.

"I have taken this class. It will open your mind and help you with your painting. I can show you the way. " He said as they walked out of the class. They wound their way through the crowded hall and into the mass of people. He dropped her off at door for her next class. "Until tomorrow lovely girl." He said with a slight incline of his head. She felt as if he wanted to kiss her hand in farewell.

Arya walked into the class, went to the teacher, was given her book and told where to sit. To her relief there were two faces she knew and she was sitting by them.

"Arya!" Beric said. "You have joined us humble wordsmiths in our quest for the perfect sonnet?" Arya smiled as she set her things down on her desk.

"Yes I am. Hi Aegon." She smiled at him and she thought again at how hot he was.

"Hi Arya." He said. There was a glint in his eye, one she had often seen in the eyes of boys when they looked at Sansa, but never her.

The teacher called the class to attention and set them on their assignment. The class was quiet except for the scratch of pens on paper. Arya wrote a free verse pome on the color cornflower blue and by the end of class she was satisfied with it. She handed it over to the teacher along with the rest of the class.

"Arya wait up." Aegon said. "What is your next class? Can I walk you? The halls are tricky for a new comer."

"Geometry. Unlike the rest of my family I have no mind for math. I am taking the normal math with my grade like a proper person." She said.

"I can drop you there. I think Myrcella has that class as well." Aegon put his hand on the small of her back and guided her in the sea of people. She had never had a boy touch her there and she blushed crimson. She hoped no one was looking.

Grendy

He had not intentionally followed Arya, but he seemed to see her all over. When he walked by the art wing she was there being left at the painting studio by a girl he had seen around, but didn't know. Then when he was walking to his history class he saw her walking the opposite way with some senior with two toned hair. Then on his way to his math class he spotted her walking with Aegon who had his hand on the small of her back. He saw red at his friends hand on her body. She was happy and all smiles when Myrcella walk up. Myrcella waved and said something to Arya who headed into class and Myrcella walked over to him.

"Hey Gendry. I have some pictures for you from the party. I have them on a flash drive for you. Beric said you handle all the publicity stuff for your band and some of the pictures are really good." She said looking up into his eyes, all hopeful. He knew that the girl had a crush on him, and he found her attractive, but he didn't see her that way.

"Thanks Myrcella. I will take a look at them." He said smiling. Gendry took the flash drive and gave her a smile.

He sat in his math class and took notes but his mind was not on the subject. He was thinking of Arya. There was something about her. He usually kept away from the opposite sex. The date that he had canceled on to do the gig on Friday was more for Thoros' cousin's benefit then because he wanted a date. He was supposed to be her arm candy to get back at an ex. He had said yes to going along with it because she said that she'd pay for dinner and the tickets to a concert he had wanted to see. But other then that he had never really went out on a date with anyone before. Arya made him want to change that. It was starting to scare him how much she was in his thoughts. He hadn't even really talked to the girl before, yet she was all he thought about. Gendry didn't know if it was normal to think this much about a girl that you had a crush on or if there was something wrong with him. The bell rang and he shuffled out of the door with the rest of his class to join into the swell of high school humanity.

"Gendry!" Myrcellas voice called out to him. He stopped and turned to look for her. She was waving her hand in the air over the heads of the other students and thanks to his height he was able to spot her. He changed directions in the current and made his way over to her. When he got to her side Arya was standing next to her looking a little angry.

"Gendry you have the next class with Arya. Can you show her where to go?" Myrcella asked. She smiled, but Gendry could tell she didn't want to leave her new friend with him. "Um. Sure. Follow me." He turned back into traffic and walked slowly to make sure Arya was following. When they were outside on the way to the auto shop he looked over to her. Something was definitely wrong with her. The scowl on her face would have kept people away, but they didn't call hint Bull for his size.

"Math not your thing?" He asked.

"They are a chapter ahead then where I was at Winterfell. And the jerk of a teacher wouldn't let me skip over it. I have until Friday to do the whole chapter as well as the daily work. He is a complete prick." She said her cheeks pink with her anger. Her hands were balled into fists and she looked like she could put something behind a swing.

"I'm good at math. I could help you out if you'd like." He said looking at his feet as they walked. He had no idea why he had said that. Gendry _was _good at math, but offering to help _her _with math was a little much.

"I would really love that. Usually my older brother Jon helps me with math but he's back home. And I would have had to ask Bran and he is the worst person to have help you with something you do not understand. He complicates everything. You are a life saver Gendry." She placed her hand on his arm and a charge shot through his body.

He cleared his throat. "So you are interested in mechanics?" He asked when he remembered how to speak.

"Yes. I love working on cars. I used to help my brothers when they worked on theirs, but my mother never allowed me to take classes in school. Father convinced her to let me here." She said.

"I'm changing the oil on my car today. If you want you can help. I know it's not a two person job, but you are more then welcome to help."

"I would like that a lot." She smiled at him and his heart leapt. They made it into the auto shop right before the bell rang.

Sansa

She was happy that she had most of her classes with someone she knew. Sandor was such a help with navigating the school that she didn't know what she would have done without him. She met quite a few people and everyone seemed nice, but she much more preferred to sit in the comfortable quiet that she had with Sandor. This strange guy almost made her forget that she wanted to be Prom Queen. She knew it was shallow and stupid but she had wanted to be the prom queen of her senior class for as long as she could remember. So when she realized that Joffery Baratheon was the most popular guy in her class she had decided to use him to climb the social ladder. She had to hide her revulsion and pretend to laugh at the things he would say. She faked happiness when he turned up to walk with her to all her classes.

She ate lunch with him and his friends that day. Margery and some other girls sat with them. The guy talked about football play offs and parties, the girls talked about hair, guys and shoes. To her the conversation was not very stimulating. But she pretended to care. Prom Queen was worth the mind numbing chit chat going on around her. She had looked around the cafeteria for her brother and sister and spotted them when she had first entered, to make sure they found the cafeteria. They were at opposite ends of the room from her. She was smack dab in the center. She knew that Joffery picked this spot because in his mind he was the center of the universe. She envied her siblings. They seemed to really be enjoying their new friends.?

Bran was with a boy and a girl that looked like they were related. They had a book opened between them and were bent over it in deep conversation. Arya was with Myrcella and the guys from the band that played at the party. Sansa noticed that two of the guys were vying for Aryas attention, but she didn't seem to notice that their attention was anything but friendly, or that Myrcella had a sad look on her face whenever one of the two guys talked to her. Sansa knew that look, and it was not one that should be on your closest female friends face. Sansa made a note in her mind to talk with Arya about the two guys and Myrcella.

Sansa was talking to Margaery when Joffery told the entire group to shut up and pay attention to what he had to say.

"Friday after the game, after we win there will be a party at my house. I want everyone at this table to attend. It is not optional. I don't give a shit if your parents say no, you get there or you will need to find new friends." Joffery finished his speech and looked around the table. He looked at Sansa for a moment. "And Sansa will you be my date to the party?" She was shocked. His request was more an order then a question and she really didn't want to go, but she knew that if she turned him down she would never make prom queen and she would not be allowed to be around the few friends that she had made.

"I would really like that Joffery." She said. She was now dating him. He had asked her out on a date and she had said yes. She was going to get the crown and then dump him. She could do that.

"The Hound will pick you up on his way to the party and take you home when it is done. Is that okay with you Dog?" Joffery didn't even wait for an answer from Sandor before turning away to talk to one of his football teammates.

Sansa looked over at Sandor. His mouth was set in a thin line. The lunch bell rang and Sandor hurried out of the cafeteria, Sansa followed.

"Sandor wait!" She quickened her pace and caught up with him. He wouldn't look down at her, so she put her hand on his arm. "Sandor you don't have to take me to Jofferys party. I can borrow one of my parents' cars and drive myself."

"No I will take you. Come on we will be late. I have to go to the gym and so do you." They walked on to their next class and she was thinking about how much nicer Friday would be if she was going to the party as Sandors date instead of Jofferys. But the way to the crown was with Joffery, not Sandor.

**A/N So just so you know when I first wrote this story I was pregnant, two years ago almost. Wow. Any way food was a big part of my imagination. So food will play a part of some of the story. So like what I have going so far? I know I have added to these chapters and such. Let me know what you think. **


	8. Game Nights and Parties

Myrcella

Friday night was a big night at Kings Landing High. The football team was playing the first game of the district play offs. Myrcella was sitting with her parents in the stands watching her brother play. She was excited for her school, but she secretly hoped that the other team members would hurt Joffery. Football was the only time that she knew her brother would get sacked and there was nothing her mother could do about it. But so far there had been no sacking of the QB. Marcella tried watching the game, but she was so board. She wished that something fun would happen.

Down on the sidelines the cheerleaders were cheering and keeping the crowd happy, the game was good, but everyone needs to see a pretty girl shake their pom-poms at a game. Sansa was kicking and waving her pom-poms like her life, her whole world depended on it. Sansa's voice was clear and loud as she led the crowd in the chants. In a week Myrcella watched as Sansa became popular. There was something about her that made people want to be around her and do things for her. The only person who was more popular than Sansa was Margery, but she had been the Queen of King's Landing since grade school. But Marcella knew that one day, and one day soon, Sansa would be the most popular girl in the school.

Myrcellas father was there watching the game in the stands and he was drunk and making rude comments about the cheerleaders and their short skirts. Ned Stark was sitting by her father and Ned was trying, unsuccessful, to keep Roberts voice below a bellow. Arya and Bran were there as well, but they were not really paying attention. Bran was on his Kindle and would cheer whenever the crowd did, but he was not watching the game. Arya was intermittingly texting with someone and talking to Myrcella. She didn't know who Arya was texting, Marcella hoped it was no one from school, but Arya had a smile on her face. Marcella was really enjoying her new friend, but she did not want her as compotation for Gendry or his attention.

Myrcellas phone chirped.

_Hey Myrcella. Where are you?-_ Gendry

_Sitting with my family. Where else would I be_?

_Can you get away?_ - Gendry

_I think so. Where are you?_

_Concessions stand with Thoros and Hot Pie. Hot Pie wanted chili fries._ - Gendry

_That is just like him. I'll bring Arya with me. If that's okay?_

_Heck yeah! We'll see you soon. Hurry up._ ;) – Gendry

Myrcella really wanted to go with the guys. They had never asked her to hang out at a game before. She was so excited. She had known them for a year and this was something she really wanted to do. She hoped that Arya was not the reason they were asking her to come hang out, she hoped Gendry wanted to see her, not her fast becoming best friend.

"Arya do you want to go meet the guys at the concession stand?" Myrcella asked. Arya didn't respond. Her face was glued to her phone and she was texting super-fast. "Arya! Are you there?" She waved her hand in front of Arya's face. Arya still didn't respond so Myrcella pinched her arm.

"Ouch! What the hell Myrcella! That was not cool." Arya snapped. She was rubbing her arm, looking pissed.

"She did ask you a question. You were the one ignoring her." Bran said from beside her. Despite the fact he had not looked up front his Kindle really showed that he was super observant.

"You asked me a question? I'm sorry I was distracted." Arya said. She placed her phone down on her lap AMD looked sullenly at her friend.

"It's okay." Myrcella shrugged. "The guys wanted to meet at the concession stand. Want to go?"

"Oh. Okay." Arya turned and hollered at her mother in an unlady like way. "Hey mom! Myrcella and I are going to the concession stand to meet some friends. I have my phone." Arya said to her mother.

"Alright dear. Do you have money?" Catelyn asked. She was eyeing Robert with masked disapproval.

"Yep. We will see you later." Arya stood and walked away before Myrcella had a chance to ask her parents.

The girls headed down the stands to the ground and made the way between the spectators cheering for the team. They wove their way to the concession stand to find their friends at the counter getting Hot Pies chili fries.

"Arya, Myrcella glad that you came to join us." Thoros said when they got up to where they were had gathered. Myrcella was sad that Thoros had greeted Arya by name first, but she hoped that it was just because it was alphabetical.

"It is better than hanging around our parents and watching my mother making a fuss about every hit my brother takes." Myrcella said. She rolled her eyes and they all laughed at the fact her mother was crazy.

The stadium cheered. The team had done well and scored a touchdown. The band started to play and the cheerleaders led the crowd in a cheer. Arya looked at Myrcella and rolled her eyes. Hot Pie did a cheer with the girls and the guys busted a gut at the idea of Hot Pie acted like Sansa.

Gendry joined them and smiled at them all. His eyes lingered on Arya and Myrcella had to fight to keep her scowl off her face. After their greetings the five of them walked out of the stadium to the parking lot where there were the rest of the school, the ones who were to cool to bluntly support their team had gathered. Beric and Aegon were waiting by Gendry's car. There were laughing and joking together over something the people three cars down were doing.

"Are you going to the party at our house after the game?" Myrcella asked Gendry as they walked side by side.

"There is a party that we heard about in another part of town. We were going to go there." He slid his look to Arya then back to her. "It is not going to be the jock squad and their groupies. There are going to be real people there. Not that you aren't real. You would be the only reason to go to that party."

"Oh." Myrcella said dejectedly. She had really wanted them to co e to the party at her house.

"You can come with us if you want. And Arya too." He flicked his gaze over to her again.

Myrcella smiled sadly at him, fluttering her lashes at him. "I would, but I have to go to the party at my house."

Aegon heard this and came over and slung his arm around her shoulders. He smiled down at her and she sucked in her breath. She had forgotten how attractive he was. If Myrcella had not been so wrapped up in Gendry for so long she would have gone after him in a heartbeat.

"You know that you don't want to be there. Come with us. It will be more fun." He gave her a crooked smile and then touched her hand with his fingertips.

"I don't think my mother would allow it. She is okay with hosting parties, but not okay with me going to them." She blushed. She did not like to admit that her mother was way to over protective.

"I don't want to go to the party at your house either." Arya popped up from that back of the group. Myrcella had almost forgotten about her. "No offence but all the people that are going are all asses. Your brother being the biggest one." Arya said, still looking at her phone.

"Isn't your sister going to be there?" Aegon asked.

"Yeah with Myrcella's brother. I love my sister, but she has the worst taste in men." Arya finally looked up from her phone and gave them all an impersonation of being sick.

They all chuckled at the face that Arya made. Myrcella thought that Arya looked like she had eaten a lemon. It was not a secret that Arya had quickly grown to dislike her brother. She could not really blame her. Arya had come across him bullying a freshman and intervened. Joffery had called her a little bitch and had said that if she got in his way again she would pay. Arya called Joffery a ball-less wimp for having to pick on the young and the weak to feel like a man. When Myrcella got home from school that day Joffery had cornered her and slapped her for being friends with Arya. She didn't tell anyone about that. There were no marks on her so no one was likely to believe her. Like always.

"I have an idea!" Arya shouted out. "Why don't you stay over at my house tonight? My parents will let us go to the party with the guys if we get home by one. That way we won't have to ask your parents, just mine!" Arya said a mischievous glint in her eye.

"That is a great idea. That way you don't have to put up with the jock-straps and the rest of the stupid asses." Beric said. He was grinning. He must really want to go to this party.

"I don't know. My mother is protective. She says she is a mother lioness when it comes to us kids, and they do not let anything mess with their cubs. That's why she says we can party at home. But nowhere else." Myrcella's cheeks burned. She knew that the others wanted her to go, and there were going to do it no matter what. She hated making them wait for her to say yes.

"Then ask your father. He will say yes." Arya said. "That's what I always do when something comes up that I know my mom will say no to. Play them against each other so they get pissed at each other, not you." Arya had her face back to her phone.

That was a good idea. Myrcella knew that her father would say yes, just to piss her mother off. She decided that she would give it a try. One night of rebellion was something that she could do. It was not like her real friends would be at the party at her house, she was already with them. She would have more fun with them anyway.

"Alright. Let's do it." She smiled at the group around her.

"Excellent!" Gendry shouted and the others whooped.

"I'm going to text my dad and ask him if you can stay the night. He will talk to Robert for us. And I will tell him we are going to get something to eat with our friends so we won't have to go back to the stands and you won't have to face your mom." Arya said, her fingers flying over her phone as she talked.

"You sound if you have a lot of experience in deception." Gendry said a crooked grin on his face.

Arya looked up from her text and shot him a fuck off look and the others laughed.

"You are lucky she didn't hit you. I saw your arm from the other day when you told her that she would never be able to tighten the bolts on a tire without using the drill. The bruise was perfect." Aegon said.

"My arm is still bruised and sore." Gendry said, his smile growing bigger. "And she was able to do it without the fucking drill. It took me a long time to be able to do that. She's a strong Little Wolf."

Myrcella saw Arya's head snap up. There was a look on her best friends' face that she had never seen before. It was both sad, wistful, and held a deep longing all at the same time. The two held each other's gaze for what felt like an eternity. Myrcella felt the first trickle of jealousy enter her. She quickly banished the thought. Arya was her friend. But at the same time she didn't know what Arya felt for Gendry.

During the week Myrcella had come to the realization that she was in fact in love with Gendry. She had liked him since the year before when he had come across her at a park trying to get her little brother to climb down from a tree. Tommen had gotten stuck near the top. He had been too scared to climb down. She had been too scared to climb up. So Gendry had climbed up the tree to the boy and helped him down. They struck up a friendship from that. Tommen still called Gendry his Hero for helping him.

She had had a fleeting crush on Aegon, but it was more of a superficial crush because of his good looks rather than anything else. Seeing Gendry show interest in Arya made Myrcella realize that she was in love with the blindest man in the world. But seeing Aegon show interest in both her and Arya was shocking to her.

She figured that if she went to the party that they would have the perfect opportunity to spend time with Gendry alone, together and she could make her feelings known to him. She hoped that Arya's plan worked.

She heard Arya's phone chirp.

"They say yes! Let's leave now. I don't think that I could show anymore school spirit tonight." Arya said. The others all shredded.

"Who's riding with who?" Aegon asked.

"I can hold five. And you only have your bike. I don't know how this is going to work out." Gendry said.

"Bike?" Myrcella asked turning to Aegon.

"I have been working on a motorcycle for a while and I decided to take her out tonight." Aegon blushed looking at Arya. Myrcella knew he had rode the bike to empress her.

"Myrcella was telling me this earlier that she had always wanted to ride on one. I told her about riding with my brothers. Why don't you ride with Aegon to the party?" Arya said her face back on her phone.

Myrcella shot Gendry a look. He had a slightly pleased look on his face. She felt her heart sink a little. A new idea was forming in her mind. She called it 'make Gendry jealous'.

She let her face light up in a bright smile as she turned to Aegon and laid her hand on his arm.

"Could I ride with you? I would love it." She let a purr enter her voice as she asked.

She saw him gulp. She knew that she could be devastatingly charming when she wanted to be.

"Sure." He stammered. "Yeah, you can come with me." He stammered.

The others piled into Gendry's car. Arya sat up front with Gendry. Myrcella saw them chatting together. Arya had put her phone away, for the first time all night. Her felt the prickles of the green eyed monster poking out. She tried to shove it away, but it was still there. She was going to really have to fight this urge to smack her best friend in the face.

"You are going to have to hold onto me tight. I promise that I won't drive to scary." Aegon handed her a helmet. She saw Gendry roll down his window. This was her moment to act like a sex kitten.

"I will make sure to hold onto you, tight. Nothing could make me stop." She tried to put a sultry note into her voice as she swung her leg over the bike and looped her arms around Aegon's lean waist. Aegon smiled at her and nodded his head. They locked eyes and in that moment they were the only two people in the world. Could Aegon really like her?

"We will follow you." Gendry said before they headed out. Aegon nodded and started up his bike. Myrcella looped her arms around him and scooted as close to him as she could. She was glad that she had worn layers. She knew the rice was going to chill her to the bones.

Aegon sped out of the parking lot into the night. The bike was smooth and accelerated as if they were on a cloud. Myrcella had never felt so alive! The ride was so amazing. She was loving the adventure so much. Aegon was a master at navigating in and out of traffic. She honestly didn't want the ride to stop. But it eventually did. They were at the party. And it was in full swing by the time Aegon turned off the bike.

Myrcella took off the helmet and smiled at Aegon. She had not expected to enjoy the ride so much, but she truly had. She smiled at him and let her happiness flow into her eyes.

"Aegon that was so much fun." She said, in a breathless voice.

"We will have to do it again some time." He gave her a large goofy smile before the car full of the others pulled up beside them.

Bran

Bran sat in the stands reading but to listen to the commentary of the game. The Kings Landing Knights were winning so far 27-0. They were in the first half of the game and things were looking good for the team. He knew the Knights had this game in the bag. But he was more interested in what he was reading his Kindle. He had never read Shakespeare before and they had been assigned to find a monologue for his theater class from one of Shakespeare's plays to perform on Monday for the class. He had chosen Mark Anthony's monologue from Julius Caesar, it went along with what he had been reading for his brother. He had it memorized already, but he found the other plays fascinating and had decided to read all Shakespeare's work to familiarize himself with the material.

He felt his cell vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. There was a text from Meera on it.

_Will you stop reading and come down here?-_Meera

Bran looked up and looked around. At the bottom of the stairs leading up to where he was sitting Meera was leaning on the railing looking at him. He smiled and set his Kindle down.

_There I stopped reading happy now?_

Meera smiled as she read his text and nodded her head indication that she was indeed happy that he had stopped reading.

_Come out and join me and Jojen. We were going to go get something to eat. I can drop you off at your house when we are done._ –Meera

_Let me ask._

_Okay-_Meera

"Mother can I go get a bite to eat with my friends?" Bran asked. He knew his mom would say yes. She let Arya go off with her friends. Catelyn wanted her children to thrive in the South, and that meant letting them leave the nest. But before she could answer someone else spoke up.

"Do you not feed your children Mrs. Stark?" Tyrion Lannister asked. "That is the second one to ask to go out and eat."

Catelyn smiled thinly at Tyrion then turned to look at Bran.

"You may go. I want you home by ten thirty at the latest." She said.

"What time did you tell Arya and Sansa to be home tonight?" Rickon asked. Bran smiled at his little brother.

"One." Ned said. His eyes were glued to the game. Ned loved sports, so this was no shock.

"Then why does Bran have to be home by ten?" Rickon wanted to know.

"The same reason you have to be home by eight when you are with your friends. Because of our ages." Bran told his brother. He wanted to say something scathing, but decided on tact. "Mother can you keep my Kindle and take it home for me?"

"Yes darling. Have fun and be safe." Catelyn said. She looked at her husband, who nodded his head than added one last remark. "And you have until eleven to be home."

Bran smiled as he walked down the stairs to the stadium to where Meera was waiting. She grabbed his hand without saying a word and led him to the parking lot without a word to him. Jojen was there waiting. As soon as they got within sight of her brother she released Brans hand. He did not understand why she had taken it in the first place but he didn't really care. He just found it odd. But he liked it. He felt alone without her hand in his.

"You found him. Was he doing what I told you he would be doing? Reading?" Jojen asked with a sly smile on his face.

Meera nodded her head.

"And was he in the section I told you about?" Jojen asked in an excited voice.

Meera nodded again.

"And did Tyrion say what I said he would say when Bran asked to get a bite?" he was practically bouncing around the car now.

Meera nodded again.

"What do you think Tyrion said if you know so much?" Bran asked, kind of mad at his friend's strange behavior.

"Do you not feed your children Mrs. Stark?" Jojen asked. He did a perfect imitation of Tyrion's voice.

"And how do you know that he asked that?" Bran asked.

"He saw him say it." Meera said. She was totally serious.

Bran stood there and looked between the two Reed siblings and could only stair at them in disbelief.

"How did you see it? Were you watching me?" Bran said scoffing at what his friends said.

"I have been watching you all week Bran." Jojen said. He was utterly serious.

"You have been stalking me?" Bran demanded. He was outraged.

"He has not been stalking you. But he sees things. With his mind's eye." Meera said walking over to Bran and put her hand on his arm.

"Does he have a brain tumor? Is there something going on wrong with your head?" Bran demanded. If they were playing a prank on him, he was going to flip his shit.

"I am just observant, like you." Jojen blew Bran's anger off. "Let's go. I am starving. A milkshake and burger sound great." Jojen was sliding off the front of the car where he had decided to lean, once his dancing was done.

"I am not going anywhere with you." Bran said backing away from Meera, and Jojen. He wasn't going anywhere with them. They were obviously crazy.

"Wait Bran, come with us and we will explain everything, honest." Meera said earnestly.

Bran was torn between knowing want was happening with his new friends head and feeling like they were playing a trick on him. Like with all things in his life curiosity got the better of him and he agreed to go with the Reeds. It was time to learn something new. He was hoping to see what they had to offer him.

Sansa

She loved being a cheerleader. She was always happy about cheering in front of a mass of strangers. She loved that she could get an entire crowd on their feet and cheering for the football players. She truly felt like she was giving the players a reason to play. She had been over the moon after school on Monday after her talk with the cheer coach. She was granted a place in the squad with opened arms and all the girls were kind to her. It was more then she could have dreamed. This is what she really wanted.

She had found her in. She saw her path to get her crown. Now all she had to do was get a little more popularity and she would have her dream to be queen. It had been her dream since she was a small child to be the Prom Queen for her senior class. She had once found her aunt Lyanna's crown as a girl and had worn it around for weeks. Her mother had been pleased, but her father was saddened. Sansa had looked at pictures of her aunt when she won. There was a glow about her, a power about her that made her aunt seem like she could do anything, be anyone. Bring men to their knees, rule the world, it was all there on her face. On that one night, of her aunt's prom, Lyanna had been on top of the world. Sansa wanted that feeling too. To honor the aunt that she never knew, to make her mother proud, to showing that the Starks held that power to make the world stand out and realize who she was, who her family was. The Starks were here to stay, and Winter is Coming.

So she stood there doing high kicks, shaking her pom-poms and she felt that pride surge with in her. She had not been a member of the school for long, but this team was amazing. She was excited about the game. She truly loved football. There was something beautiful and graceful about the way it was played. It was like a hi intensity dance of titans. It was fast and furious. Football was something she loved to see and admired the players for playing. She had always been the one to watch it on TV at home, she went to as many games as she could. Sansa was the one who understood the rules and the plays that were made in her family. It was kind of her thing. When she wasn't leading the crowd in cheers she was intently watching the game.

The team worked very well together. They flowed together and knew what the other was thinking before the play started. They blocked every pass, they caught every throw. They tackled any threat. She was a little amazed that the team didn't rally around the QB Joffery; they took their direction from Sandor. He was the heart of the team. He yelled only when someone did something wrong, he encouraged when someone did something good. When someone messed up he would bellow at them when they deserved it, but he always praised when someone once the yelling was done. Sandor did not want to demoralize his team, he just wanted them to be the best. Sansa noted that Joffery only bullied others and only praised himself.

Sansa had agreed to go out with Joffery before she had seen what he was really like and now she didn't think she could break it off with him. In the last week he had shown his cruelty and possessiveness in the extreme. He walked her everywhere at school, called and texted her incessantly, and she found out from Bran that he had threatened her Arya for protecting a smaller kid from Joffery. When she confronted him about that he had laughed and said that it was a misunderstanding. When she asked Arya she said the same thing, Arya lied so she could pay him back later in her own way. But he was also very charming when he wanted to be. She understood why he was so popular. He had money and spent it on everyone. He bought his friends then he kept them around by bulling them and paying them off.

The Knights just did an amazing block, so she was pulled from her musing. She cheered and rooted for the Knights. She put her heart into it. She was ecstatic when they won the game and was the one leading the spectators onto the field to congratulate the team. She reached Sandor first. His eyes were bright and he was extremely pleased with the win. Sansa was again struck dumb at how tall and imposing he was. But she was not frightened by his size. It really turned her on. She had a thing for big guys.

"You played amazingly Sandor. I have never seen anything like the way you on the field before." Sansa said as she gave him a fast congratulations hug. The hug was an impulse.

"It was a team effort." Sandor grunted. He beamed around at the guys around them. He had slid his arm around her during the hug and it was still warmly pressed against her waist.

"You were still amazing." Sansa said as she let him go. They smiled at each other and Sansa wanted to just stay near him.

"Sansa! There you are. What did you think of my playing?" Joffery demanded as he made his way over to them. He put his arm around her waist. His action pulled her away from Sandor. He looked from one to the other. There was an evil glint in his eye.

"You played very well Joffery." She said, feeling uncomfortable with Joffery clutching her to him.

"I was fantastic, everyone else was okay. Come on Hound we have to change. I have a party at my house to get to. Sansa you should wear your uniform, I like the way you look in it." Joffery said over his shoulder as he walked away.

"You don't really have to stay in the uniform if you don't want to." Sandor said in a soft voice.

"It's okay. I don't mind staying in it. I can always change at the party." Sansa said dismissively. She didn't really like wearing it when she was not cheering, but she had to admit that she liked the way this one looked on her body.

"Okay. I will meet you outside the lockers to go to the party." Sandor's voice rippled.

"You don't have to do that. I am sure I can get a ride with Margaery. It is not a big deal." She didn't want to impose on him.

"I said I would take you. I do not go back on my word once it has been given." Sandor said. His eyes were hooded and there was a tight smile on his face.

"Alright I will meet you outside the locker room." She said. They both walked in the ocean of people to the locker rooms. Sansa went into the girls to collect her bags. The other girls were excited about the win, but were even more excited about the after party.

"Joffery's parties are legendary! He always had the best music, free booze and a pool to skinny dip in. This is going to be so much fun." Margery said as she changed out of her uniform. "Aren't you changing Sansa?"

"Um, no. Joff asked me to stay in it." Sansa shrugged.

"Oh, well if that's the case, ready to go?" Margery jingled her keys at her.

"Sandor is giving me a ride. Joffery ordered Sandor to take me, so I'm going to wait around for him." Sansa said as she pretended to touch up her lip gloss. The other girls looked at each other and left her there. Sansa let out a deep breath. She really didn't want to go to the party, but it was her duty to show up. She was dating the host. So she walked out and waited for Sandor.

Gendry

He was trying to follow Aegon, who was driving like a bat out of hell, across town to a party that his friend had heard about. It was being thrown by a senior that Gendry did not really know, but had heard threw wicked parties. Gendry knew he wouldn't know anyone but his friends and that was okay with Gendry.

He was pleased at the arrangement of who rode with whom to the party. Arya was sitting next to him in the front seat on his car. Her body was pressed to his side. She had to sit close to him. Hot Pie also sitting in the front seat, scarring down his chili fries. Thoros and Beric were taking up the entire back seat wrestling around, like children. He was happy that Myrcella had gone with Aegon. Now Aegon wouldn't be there to distract Arya from him and he didn't have to see the moon eyed looks Myrcella kept giving him. The only bad part about the whole situation was that Arya was on her phone the whole time.

"Who are you texting with Arya?" Hot Pie asked. Chili dribbled down onto his shirt. Gendry was glad the adorable fool had asked.

"My older brother Jon." She smiled hugely just mentioning her brother. "This is the longest I can ever remember not seeing him. He is my best friend." She said.

Gendry breathed a sigh of relief. It was only her brother, not that mysterious guy that she walked with after her art class. His lip curled back in a snarl just thinking about that guy. It was enough that he had to compete for Arya with his best friend, but a strange guy was something else. If Gendry had his way he would chain himself to her, so he could keep creeps away from her. Arya was just too nice for her own good. If she wasn't then she wouldn't be here with him and his foolish friends.

They pulled up to the house that the party was at. There were plenty of people and they all piled out of the car. Aegon and Myrcella were parked already, talking animatedly. But once Myrcella noticed Gendry her demeanor changed. Gendry just shook his head. She was his friend, nothing more.

"Aegon that was ssooo much fun. I really enjoyed it. Maybe you could teach me how to drive it someday." Myrcella said. She shot a look at Gendry as she said it.

Just what Gendry needed. Myrcella thinking that she can make him jealous by flirting with Aegon. Didn't she know that Aegon liked Arya too? Wasn't she supposed to be Arya's friend? Weren't girls supposed to talk about that kind of thing? The opposite sex mystified him.

"Alright let's get into the party and see who all is here." Thoros said. "Maybe I will get lucky and I will find love."

"I doubt it Thoros. One look at you and any woman will go running." Beric said as he climbed out of the back seat.

The two got into a playful shoving match and they walked up to the door to the house.

It was opened and a crush of people came spilling out. There was music pulsating from inside the house. Gendry lead his group into the house and they saw some people that they knew from school. It was the mix of people who were the artist type, the stoner type and the classic mix of everyone who is not popular. It was a good mix of people at the rave, it was more than a party.

They walked deeper into the tangled mass of people. Gendry really wanted to pull Arya into the center of the living, moving group of people, and dance with her pressed against him. He had turned to her, about to ask her to dance. His half was making its way to hers. His fingertips touched the back of her smooth skinned hand. She turned and looked at him. He opened his mouth to ask, but he saw Arya look behind him and her eyes looked as large as plates.

"Hello lovely girl. I am very pleased that you could make it." The speaker was the two toned hair guy that walked with Arya from her art class to her poetry class every day. Gendry looked down at Arya, she had a smile on her face for the strange guy walking toward her.

"Jaqen is this your party?" She asked. Gendry really wanted to take her hand in his now. To keep her from this strange guy. He settled on glaring at Jaqen.

"It is. I just received word that our valiant Knights have just won their game." He shouted to the crowd in his house. There was a hoot and then most of the people in the living room rushed to the kitchen for shots. "And who are all these people that you have here with you?" Jaqen indicated to the group ringed around her once the volume level made it possible to talk without shouting.

"These are my friends. Myrcella, Hot Pie, Thoros, Beric, Aegon and Gendry." Arya introduced her friends.

Jaqen nodded his head at the names that were indicated. Gendry glared daggers at the new comer. There was something in the way that this guy looked at Arya that he didn't like. He looked over to Aegon and he had an identical look on his face. He looked like he wanted to rip the guys face off and stomp it into the ground. Aegon and Gendry might both be trying to win over Arya, but they both did not like this two toned headed freak giving their friend this strange attention.

"Hey man, thanks for throwing this party. It lookers like it is going to rock. Too bad you didn't want some really good live music. We would have played here. You have a great turn out." Beric said, walking forward, slightly pushing Arya behind him. Gendry smiled. He was not the only one who wanted to keep Arya away from Jaqen.

"Alas I did not know you would be coming to my party. If I would have, I would have asked." Jaqen looked at the assembled men protecting him from Arya. "But since you are here, I open my house to you. Dance, drink and enjoy the party." Jaqen walked away, leaving the guys angry.

Sandor

He walked out of the locker room and saw Sansa standing waiting for him just like she said she would be. He felt a stirring in his lower extremity. She should not be allowed to wear that cheerleader uniform, ever. Her body looked too good to be true. Mouth wateringly good came to mind. He was better than a pin up girl he saw in an old magazine once. He cursed Joffery for making him be alone with her, dressed like that. All he wanted to do when he was alone with her was take her into the first secluded place that he could find and have his way with her.

"Let's go." He barked.

She followed behind him to his car. He opened her door for her, she slid in, tugging his skirt down. Once she was in he went to the driver's side, turned on the car and drove away. They drove to the party in silence but it was not uncomfortable. It took twenty minutes to get the Red Keep and the party was already in full swing. Sandor got out of the driver's side and he went around to Sansa's side of the car and opened the door for her. He offered her his hand to assist her out. She took it. Like with every time they touch he feels the electricity jump between them. She released his hand. But there was a smile on her lips. He smiled back down at her.

There were already people past the point of intoxication loitering around the grounds. Sandor led Sansa to the back of the house to the pool house where Joffery always had his parties. The music was pounding and loud. He went over to a barrel that was full of ice and grabbed a beer out of it. He would only drink one beer tonight. He couldn't get drunk tonight. He had to drive Sansa home. But he needed one drink to fight the urge to take Sansa away from the party.

Joffery was already on the verge of being way to drunk. He saw Sandor and Sansa behind him. He stumbled over, waving his arms and shouting for them.

"Sansa there you are. How the hell did you get here? Did you walk?" He stumbled over to her. He tried to kiss Sansa, but she ducked away from him and all he was able to do was give her a wet slobbery kiss on the cheek. Sandor saw a flicker of anger cross his eye.

"I had to wait for Sandor. Remember he was the one that drove me here." Sansa was talking slow, as if talking to a small child. Joffery was still having trouble understanding what she was saying. Somehow he latched on the only thing his mind deducted from what Sansa had said.

"Did you have a go with her Hound? Is that what took you so long? Have you been sniffing around my girl?" Jofferys voice was getting louder and they were starting to attract a crowd of on lookers. Joffery was getting into Sandoz's personal space.

Sandor balled his hand into a fist. He did not want to punch the little worm in front of Sansa; but he would if the little shit didn't stop pushing him. He had been doing that all week. In the locker room after practice he would brag about how he was going to get into Sansa's pants and that she was going to be the crowning jewel of his collection of sexual conquest. He had just been turned down by Margaery Tyrell the week before Sansa had arrived and he was just using Sansa to make Margery feel bad for not going with him. When Sandor heard that he wanted to use Jofferys face as a mop and wipe it all over the floor. He felt that way whenever he saw Sansa and Joffery together.

"Joffery are you serious?" Sansa said in an incredulous voice. Her anger was raising. "I would not do that. What do you take me for? And besides you never even asked me to be your girl, have you? Now stop making a scene and take me onto the dance floor." Sansa said stepping between the drunken fool and Sandor. Joffery chuckled and took her hand and she took him to the floor.

Sandor released his clenched fist from its death grip to a slightly relaxed fist. He tried to control his breathing. He tried not to let his eyes follow Sansa. He saw her turn and look at him. There was something about the way that she was looking at him made him want to go over to her and rip her away from Joffery.

"Sandor, why are you letting her go with him? Can't you see that she has a thing for you?" Margaery asked from next to him.

"She likes him. If she didn't why would she have come here to be with him?" He said in his sandpaper voice. What she was saying could not be true. Sansa did not like him. He had a hard time wrapping his head around this nugget of information.

"She is trying to use the user for some unknown reason. Myrcella told me and Arya told her. She doesn't really like him. Talk to her." Margery urged. "He doesn't deserve her. You do. Do something about it."

"I talk to her everyday Margaery. Now leave me alone." He walked away into the crowd. He walked further away from Margaery and the things that she had said to him. He walked away until he was no longer surrounded by people. He found a tree and sat down to be alone. He liked being alone. He knew that this was his lot in life. He was going to be alone for the rest of his life so he just better get used to it.

He did not notice Sansa watching him as he sulked into the shadows. If he had, he would have seen the longing on her face.

Arya

She felt the tension swirl around her. She looked at the guys on all sides of her. Jaqen was looking at Gendry, Gendry was looking at Aegon, and Aegon was looking at Jaqen. Then they all looked at her. She did not understand what was going on. She turned and looked behind her at Myrcella. There was something going on with her best friend as well. There was too much drama for her and she felt like she was the center of it all.

"Jaqen can you point out where a guy can get a soda around here?" Thoros said from the back of the group.

"Come this way. The drinks are over here." Jaqen said. Thoros, Beric and Jaqen left the room for the kitchen.

Arya watched as they went into the party.

"Hot Pie lets go dance!" Arya said grabbing Hot Pies hand. She did not want to stand there in the awkward silence and testosterone filled atmosphere after their meeting with Jaqen.

Out of all he friends that she had made in Kings Landing Hot Pie was the one that she felt would explain things to her. They didn't end up on the dance floor, they ended up in the kitchen of the house where they could talk. Once the music started up again the room had emptied out fast. They were the only people there.

"If I asked you a question would you tell me the truth?" Arya asked.

"I will. But you might not like what I have to say." Hot Pie said. He was looking expectantly at her.

"What happened back there? I felt like Aegon, Jaqen and Gendry were going to take off their pants and compare sizes. And Myrcella looked hungry, angry and lost. I just don't get it Hot Pie. Please explain it to me. I feel like I am causing all this." Arya said.

She wanted to find a place in this new world, and she had thought she had done that when she had made the friends she had. The one thing she had not seen blowing up in her face was following her brother's advice. She was acting like herself for the first time in her life. If she would have known she would have based on her personality she would have done it sooner.

But is all seemed to be back firing on her and she wanted to know why. So she had cornered Hot Pie and she would not leave until he told her what she wanted to know.

Hot Pie took a deep breath and just looked at her as if she was stupid as well as blind.

"You have no idea?" Hot Pie demanded. She just continued to look at him with large eyes. "You really don't. Well, I didn't think I would be the one to tell you this, but those three guys out there all have a thing for you. And your best friend likes Gendry. She has for years now." Hot Pie said all this like it was nothing new.

But to Arya it was. Arya just stood there unsure of what she was hearing. It was not possible. There was no way in hell that there was a guy out there that liked her, let alone three. What the hell.

She had a suspicion about Myrcella's feelings for Gendry. But she had not known for sure. Now she was mad and angry on her friend's behalf. Why was Gendry letting Myrcella be around him without telling Myrcella that he wasn't interested? That was so rude. But wasn't she doing the same thing with the three guys she just learned liked her?

But was she sure that she didn't like one of them, that way? She did like them, but as friends. But was that all? Could it become something more someday with one of them? She thought it might. They all had qualities she liked in a guy. The problem was how to choose which one she liked in a more then friendly way? This was just too much for her. She didn't want to think about any of this tonight.

It was her first party in Kings Landing, hell it was her first party. She was going to just enjoy the night. Fuck everyone and who liked her. She was going to enjoy herself for once. That meant having a drink.

"Let's go get me a drink Hot Pie. I think I need a big one." She tugged him over to the assorted bottles on the counter.

"Okay." Hot Pie said, unsure of what he had asked. "What is your drink of choice?"

I really don't know. I have never really drank before. I can make drinks, but never have had one." She blushed as Hot Pie looked over the mixers and the alcohol.

"Okay. I think that I might as well just get you a wine cooler. They are a great gateway drink." Hot Pie said as he walked over to the fridge. He took a bottle of pink liquid out, popped the top and handed it to her. She smelled it shrugged her shoulders and took a swig. It was fruity and tasted so good. If this is what liquor tasted like she was going to enjoy herself. Fuck men, friend's lust and the strange complications on the South. Tonight was going to be fun. She downed her drink quickly.

"Hot Pie, be a dear and get me another." She said as she held out her empty and smiled at her friend.

**A/N Now lets get onto the real drama. I loved this one when I first wrote it and now as I go back and add things and take things away I loved it even more. It helps that this is a long one. Love the longer ones. So just so you know I cleaned up the chapter a bit, not going to say who, but just know it took me a long time and I am glad about it. **

**So on AO3 I was told that I was making the kids sound to grown up. I would like to get your thoughts on that. Let me know what you thing. Review, okay?**


	9. Who Needs Romance?

Chapter Text

Bran

He got into the Reeds beat up old car that he highly suspected had been recalled in the 70's. The inside of the car was littered with books and food containers. Meera blushed and scooped some of the garbage out of the back seat for Bran to have a place to sit. He did not understand what Meera and Jojen meant when they said that Jojen could _see things_. Bran figured that Jojen made observations about human behavior and made the logical leap as to what they what was going to happen next. Bran did this sometimes. He made educated guesses and figured that is what Jojen did as well. There was no way his new friend could see the future.

They drove to some burger joint that had a 50's theme to it. They came into the restaurant and were shown to a booth. The waitresses wore roller skates and had the hair styles that Bran had only seen in pictures. They were handed laminated menus that only had food his mother and Mrs. Clark would consider junk food. After a quick round of Bran asking what was good here they were ready to order. They all ordered cheese burgers with everything on them, fries and milkshakes. As they were waiting for their food they sat in awkward silence. Bran hated this kind of silence. Either he was talking or reading. He never had to wait for people to talk around him. Others usually just spoke. The Reeds were not.

"So are you going to explain to me what you meant when you said you "saw" what was going to be happening with Tyrion and his comment at the game?" Bran asked, no longer able to deal with the silence.

The Reeds looked at one another. They seemed to be having a conversation with one another with out words. Some times he could do that with Arya but not offer. Mostly Jon and Arya were the ones in the family that did this. Is was interesting to note that these two siblings were so close they could communicate volumes without words.

"Part if what you are thinking is right Bran." Meera started. "Jojen does make logical conclusions based on what he sees around him in reality, but it is so much more then that . He really _sees_ what is going to happen. He dreams them, he has visions. If he concentrates he knows what is going to happen to others." She had just told him what he was thinking without him saying it to either of them. "We don't know why or how it happens. He has had his brain scannned since he was little to see if its a tumor or something, but they all show he has a normal brain. The school made Jojen get the tests. They also sent him to a psychiatrist and they prescribed him medicine. They only made the visions stronger." Meera placed her hands flat on the table top and forced Bran to keep eye contact with her. It was as if she was willing Bran to understand.

"I can understand that he observes things, I do that as well. Its deductive reasoning. I get that. But I do not believe in people having visions of the future. I am sorry. The only logical conclusion that I can make is that the medication that the psychiatrist have prescribed to Jojen are causing the so called visions or in reality he hallucinations vividly based on what he observes." Bran said. He looked right at Meera while he spoke. He did not want to look at Jojen. Bran didn't want to see how his words effected his friend, because he was calling him crazy.

"I wish that was the case Bran, but these things started happening long before I was placed on the medication. Honest Bran, this is the truth. I _see_ things." Jojen said softly looking down at the pattern on the table top.

"Alright." Bran decided to see how far they were willing to go with this farce. "I will test you. Say I believe you. Tell me something that is going to happen. Something that you have no possible idea of what is going on. If it does I will believe you." Bran said. He was skeptical, but he would give them a chance to prove themselves.

Jojen closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. His face was slack. "Who do you want me to _see_?" Jojens voice was low.

"Arya." Bran said the first name that came into his head. He chose her because she was always constant. She never did anything to unpredictable. She was his ace in the hole.

Jojen sat for a while with that strange look on his face. His eyes were opened, but they had a glazed quality to them. Then things got strange. His eyes started to dart around in his head. They were all over the place. Bran shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This was either a show, or they had been telling him the truth. He really was _seeing_ the future. Then Jojen spoke. His voice was low and strained. Bran scooted closer to hear what he was saying.

"She is at a party. She is drinking. There is a guy there, more then one who want her. She is being watched. She is watching others. She is angry and scared. Someone is angry with her. She will argue with someone. She runs into the backyard. More fighting. She is kissing someone. Her best friend finds her. The kiss stops and she is ashamed. She runs into the house and cries." Jojens eyes flicker opened. He is pale and looks like he is high.

Their food came and Bran doesn't know what to say to Jojen. Bran knows his sister. This sounds nothing like Arya. She never drinks. And she has never shown interest in guys. That was never going to happen. He watched as the Reeds sit there eating their food. They were acting like this was nothing new, like what Jojen just did normal. Have some kind of fit before them was nothing new. He picked up a French fry and took a bite thinking about what Jojen had said was going on with his sister some more. He knew that Myrcella liked that guy Gendry and that they were all together. Then he thought of the way that Aegon guy had been sniffing around her. Not to mention the two toned haired guy Robb had mentioned to him who was into their sister as well. If Robb got this information from Jon, than it came from Arya. Maybe this could happen. Things in the South were different for them all. Who knows what really could happen? But there was no way that Arya was drinking and kissing someone. That was just not her style.

"We will see what happens." Bran said. He shrugged and the Reeds looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Apparently he said the right thing and they relaxed. But he gad not and his reserve held things back.

They went back to eating. The mood was a little strained. The food was great, that was the best part of the whole evening. So far.

"So how about what we did in theater today? I like learning about fake slapping. It was therapeutic to get to smack my brother around a little and not get in trouble ." Meera said trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. Bran started laughing and they shifted into a comfortable conversation about normal things instead of the crazy ideas and harebrained thoughts of seeing thru future. Bran ended up telling them funny stories about his brothers. He had a lot of material, so they were able to laugh all night. Despite the weird _I can see the future _thing, Bran had an amazing night. He felt closer to these new friends than he had to the people be had grown up with. He let his true self shine. He was able to be a know it all and the Reeds kept up with him. He had never had fries ds who could do that with him back home. Life South was not going to be dull, that is for sure.

Arya

Arya was never a drinker, ever. She had seen how it made her brothers act like jackasses and she didn't want to act like one. But after what Hot Pie told her she decided to give it a try. She first tried a wine cooler and was a fan, so she downed it quick. Next she tried a beer and hated it. Thoros laughed for ten minutes after her first sip where she choked on it while trying to spit it out at the same time. Beric took pity on her and went and found her a fruity drink. It was better. She didn't even taste the alcohol in it. He called it a Screwdriver, which was right up her ally.

Her three admirers watched her drinking her drink's with unmasked unhappiness and disapproval. But fuck that. She had moved to the South to try new things. She was going to have fun for gods sake. Arya turned her attention to watching the three men who wanted her now in a way she had not before. She watched Myrcella flirt with Aegon right in front of Gendry and Gendry couldn't care less. He was to busy glowering at Jaqen. Jaqen was busy being charming with everyone around him to even care. Fine, if they were to busy to notice her she would just have fun. So that's what she did.

Arya was feeling her buzz from the wine cooler and the screwdriver that she had drank and sauntered over to Gendry. She was sick of his foul mood. She wanted everyone around her to be having as much fun as she was. And Gendry was the best bet of having more fun. So she took a chance and went to him.

"Hey there. Want to dance?" She bobbed around with a weird feeling of freedom inside her.

"Sure." Gendry said. He still scowled, but she was willing to try to get him to give one of her knee melting smiles he was good at giving her. It worked and her stomach summersaulted.

They walked out to the area that people were dancing and started to sway to the music together. She grinned her ass against him, and his hands were all over her body, but never touching anything that was inappropriate. He was a true gentleman. She liked the way they played with each other. She was now doing something she had never done before. She felt free and that had a lot to do with Gendry pressed against her.

"Have I told you that you are the sexiest piece of beef cake that I have ever seen?" Arya said touching his arm and running her hand up to his chest.

Gendry stood stalk still. He had completely stopped dancing. She kept moving to the music. Arya had never felt this kind of control over a person before. She was in complete control of his stone body. She saw Gendrys Adams apple bob convulsively as she moved her nails over his chest.

"Arya what are you doing?" Gendry asked. His voice sounded uncertain. She knew that he liked that she was giving him this attention. Hell, she liked giving into him. Out of the three guys Hot Pie had enlightened her to Gendry felt the best to true things with. Dancing was one of the ways she wanted to try and break out of her box. It was not like she was going to do anything with him. She was just feeling free for the first time.

"I am trying to enjoy the party." She purred.

Arya laughed and sauntered away and went to look for another one of the fruity drinks that she was enjoying so much. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Gendrys mouth was slightly opened. In the kitchen she found what she was looking for in the fridge. It was a wine cooler called Slippery Nipple. Sure, that sounded right up her ally. It was just touching her lips and the first drop was going down her throat when the bottle was taken from her mouth.

"Arya this is enough." The bottle that she was holding was taken from her hand. "This is not okay. This is not you." Gendry was standing beside her. For the first time she saw the anger in his eyes. Some spark of her brain realized that she had fucked up.

She looked down and that was a mistake. It was her turn to swallow and she let her gaze spring back up to his eyes. But then her anger came up.

"How dare you take that away from me?" She lunged for the bottle.

"Tough shit Arya. You are done drinking." There was a finality in his voice that was beyond commanding. It was final.

"Like hell I am." Arya went for another bottle from the fridge. It was snatched out of her hand again.

"You are." He grabbed her arm and went over to the backdoor out of the kitchen so that they wouldn't make a scene. "Now you better tell me what the hell is going on with you. The Arya I know would not make a spectacle of herself like this."

"I just want to have a good time. I want to be young and stupid while I am young and stupid. And you don't know shit about me. I mean I have been here about a week. You know nothing." Arya snapped.

"Well snap the hell out of it. You are better then this Arya." He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

She felt her body bounce and sway as he shook her. When he stopped she looked up into his eyes. He was not looking at her face; he was looking at her chest. In a surge of impulsivity she shot up her hand and grabbed his neck and pulled his down and kissed him. She had never kissed a guy the way that she was kissing Gendry. She used her whole body to kiss him. Her hands, lips, tongue even her teeth.

Gendry moaned softly in her mouth as they fought to see who was going to be in control of the kiss as it deepened. She let her hands slip under his shirt and his hands went from her shoulders down to her waist. Gendrys hands grazed her breasts on their way to her waist. Gendry let Arya take control to their kiss. She lost herself in the sensation of him. Every thrust of his tongue, every stroke of his hands one her, made her want more. And she give more.

Her hands traveled all over his back and she felt his muscles contract under her fingertips. Then right as she felt Gendrys hand travel back up her body on their way to her chest there was a slam from behind her. She broke from the kiss and spun around to see Myrcella standing in the doorway with Aegon beside her. Gendrys hands fell away from her, like she was fire itself. She stumbled away from Gendry and went to the house in a blind haze. She brushed past the two in the doorway. She was crying when she ran right into the chest of Jaqen. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Arya what is the matter?" He looked at the tears streaming down her face. He looked concerned and worried.

"I kissed Gendry and Myrcella and Aegon saw us. I think I just did something that she will never forgive me for. My best friend here and I betrayed her in a haze of drunken stupidity." She slid her hands around his waist and he held her to him.

"It is alright lovely girl. Myrcella will understand." Jaqen said to the top of her head. "Now I think you need some water. Come on. Once we get some water into you let's go find your friends."

He wiped the tears from her face with a tenderness that made Arya look into his face. There was kindness there, but desire as well. Arya noticed that his eyes stayed on her swollen lips. Then he ever so softly ran a finger along them. She closed her eyes. His touch felt so good to her. When the warm presence was removed she opened her eyes to find herself alone in a hallway. She decided she did need that water, so she went and found some. Once she had water in her system, not just booze she went in search of Hot Pie. He would know what to do. Because she sure as hell didn't.

Sansa

As she let herself be led onto the dance floor she couldn't stop herself from looking behind her at Sandor. He stood there in a sea of people, an island unto himself. She couldn't stop looking at him when she had the opportunities to do so. She always found herself looking at him when ever she could. The worst times were when they both had their physical education class. They were on opposite sides of the gym, but her eyes always found him. His body was amazing. When he was lifting weights and without a shirt he reminded her of Perseus. He was the Greek myth brought to life. Even with his scars she was unable to tear her eyes from him. She had one embarrassing moment last week on the balance beam. She had been looking at Sandor and watching his body move when she lost her footing on the beam and fell off. She looked up and met his eyes. They were full of concern for her. Then she heard Joffery braying like an ass from where he was working out and her heart sank. Everyone had seen. But only Sandor's look had mattered to her.

She tore her eyes from Sandor and looked at Joffery. He was clinging and grabbing on to her in a possessive manner that made her want to slug the worm. He pulled her to him. Then he said in a very slobbery voice that he wanted to dance. He expected her to dance on him! The nerve. She was peeved to say the least. But she did what he had demanded. She had to keep him happy to get the crown. So she danced. She figured what the hell. The music was good and there was something in the atmosphere of the gathering that made her go with it. She hoped that Sandor was watching her. He couldn't help it, she was dancing for him.

When the song stopped Joffery said he wanted a drink so they left the dance floor and went over to the bar. He made himself a Jack and Coke and one for Sansa as well. While he was looking at his friend Sansa switched the drink for a normal cola and pretended to be drinking with him. She hated the taste of alcohol and wouldn't even try it for him.

"So Sansa, how do you like the party?" Joffery slurred.

"It is fantastic Joffery, I am greatly enjoying myself." Sansa lied.

In truth she was having a horrible time. She was not enjoying getting pawed on by a creep. But the looks that she was getting from the other girls were worth it. She knew that the girls around her wanted to be her. It was made even more apparent when Joffery gave her a present. It was a necklace.

"I want my girl to wear something as beautiful as she is. My mother thinks that this would look good on you." He said choking her trying to fasten it onto her neck.

"Thank you Joffery. This is magnificent." She said as he was finally able to fasten it and she was able to breathe again.

"Is this official enough for you?" He sneered. There was something frightening about the way he was looking at her. It made her want to run as fast and as far from him as she could. But she didn't.

"Yes Joffery. It is." She tried to kiss his cheek, but he tried to kiss her on the mouth and stick his tongue down her throat. She tactfully pushed him away and was grateful when Margery came and rescued her to dance with the girls. She jumped at the opportunity.

The rest of the party was full of Sansa being told to dance and Joffery drinking and groping her. Finally before midnight she saw Sandor for the first time since they had gotten to the party and parted ways. He looked like he was miserable. He walked over to where Joffery and a few of the other football players were sitting. He looked board. Sansa made the decision to leave as he sat down. At the end of the song she would go tell Joffery that she had to leave. She let herself get lost in the music for the last time. She imagined that she was not there dancing at Jofferys insistence; she was not dancing on a crowded dance floor. She was alone dancing for herself. She was swaying and her body was pulsating with the beat of the music. But she was kidding herself, she was dancing for Sandor.

When the song ended she opened her eyes and looked over to where Joffery was sitting. He looked like he was in need of female attention. She did not want to be the one to give him that attention. Then she looked over at Sandor behind him. He looked like he was sinking under a wave, and she hoped it was a wave of desire. She wanted to throw him a life boat. She walked over to them and smiled at Joffery.

"Joffery I think it is time that I get home. My curfew is almost up." Sansa said. She smiled at him and tried to look sad that she had to leave so early.

"Okay Sansa. But first I want a kiss. I deserve one after that necklace that I shelled out the money for." He grabbed her and roughly pulled her to him. He latched his mouth on hers and she felt revulsion shoot down her body. He clutched her to him as his tongue invaded her mouth. His hand crept to her ass and he was groping her.

The kiss didn't end soon enough for her. She wanted to wipe her mouth in disgust but held herself back. She smiled and acted like she enjoyed the kiss.

"Now get out of here girl. Don't want your father getting worried." He said giving her a pat on the ass.

"Alright Joffery." Her voice was meek. It was the way he wanted her, meek and helpless.

She looked at Sandor. He nodded his head and turned to walk away from the party. Sansa followed him to his car.

Sandor opened his passenger door for her and she slid into the seat.

"Do you really have to be home now or did you just say that to get away?" Sandor asked as he took his place behind the drivers seat.

"I don't have to be home until one. I just wanted to get out of here." Sansa admitted. "I don't know why but I find myself telling you the truth no matter what it is." She blushed and was thankful the car was dark.

She smiled at him. He gave her a lopsided smile in return. He started the car and turned it onto the road. He was not heading to her house, but away from the city and up into the hills.

"Where are we going?" Sansa asked.

"I have a feeling that you missed the stars. They won't be as bright as at your house up North, but they will shine for you." Sandor said. He knew her, really knew her. She had been missing the stars. Star gazing was her secret passion back home. Then she remembered an off hand comment she had made one day at lunch about missing stars. He had noticed it and remembered.

Her smile deepened and she sat in contentment as they drove away from the lights of the city into the country. This night was turning around for sure.

Myrcella

She had defiantly felt no greater thrill in her life as she had riding on the back of the motorcycle. There was something exhilarating and breath snatching exciting about it. She had held onto Aegons waist as they were zipping around to get to the house that the party was at. She might have even held on to tightly to Aegon. But the ride had been amazing. She had forgotten that she was supposed to be thinking a way to get Gendry to like her. She had forgotten that she was sad that she could see Gendry falling for her best friend. All she felt was the power of the bike underneath her and the strong solid man in her arms. For a moment she let her mind think it was Gendry that she was holding. But her bubble was busted when they stopped at a light.

"Do you like the ride so far?" Aegon asked. He had to yell over the roar of his bike.

"Yeah. I really am. This thing feels like there is a lot more power to it then you are letting it show. I really would like to see what this thing could do." Myrcella said speaking truthfully.

"We could do that. How about next weekend? I have nothing to do then. Except rehearsal with the guys. You can come to that to if you want." Aegon said. She didn't know if he was asking her out on a date or as a friend, so she just went with it.

"I would like that." Myrcella said as the light changed to green and off they sped off into the night.

They made it to the party. They pulled up first and she had no idea what to say next. She had just agreed to go out on a date with Aegon. Her mind was spinning. Did that mean she was giving up on Gendry? Before she could answer that question Arya and the guys pulled up and they all got out of the car. Thoros and Beric were joking and messing around on their way up to the door.

Myrcella tried to flirt with Aegon and he still seemed willing to receive her attention so she tried to keep it up to see how Gendry reacted.

"Aegon that was ssooo much fun. I really enjoyed it. Maybe you could teach me how to drive it someday." Myrcella said. She shot a look at Gendry as she said it. He didn't take the bate.

When they got there the door it was opened by a guy that Myrcella knew from the art class that Arya had. His name was Jaqen and he was very attractive, and very interested in Arya. Is there no guy in Kings Landing High School that didn't like Arya Stark!

"Hello lovely girl. I am very pleased that you could make it."

"Jaqen is this your party?" Arya asked. Myrcella was surprised to see how dumb her friend was acting. Did she not realize this guy liked her?

"It is. I just received word that our valiant Knights have just won their game." He shouted to the crowd in his house. There was a hoot and then most of the people in the living room rushed to the kitchen for shots. "And who are all these people that you have here with you?" Jaqen indicated to the group ringed around her once the volume level made it possible to talk without shouting.

"These are my friends. Myrcella, Hot Pie, Thoros, Beric, Aegon and Gendry." Arya introduced her friends.

Jaqen nodded his head at the names that were indicated. From the back of the group Myrcella could see the daggers the guys glares were throwing at Jaqen. Even the ones who didn't have designers on Arya were not pleased with Jaqen. Beric, trying to be a good guy was trying to defuse the situation.

"Hey man, thanks for throwing this party. It lookers like it is going to rock. Too bad you didn't want some really good live music. We would have played here. You have a great turn out." Beric said, walking forward, slightly pushing Arya behind him.

Well this was different. Myrcella thought. All the guys were protecting the Northern bumpkin.

"Alas I did not know you would be coming to my party. If I would have, I would have asked." Jaqen looked at the assembled men protecting him from Arya. "But since you are here, I open my house to you. Dance, drink and enjoy the party."

Myrcella watched as Jaqen, Aegon and Gendry all had a show down as to who was the top guy there using glares and body language. Aegon backed down first. He turned and looked at Myrcella. He had a slightly confused look on his face. It was if he was seeing her for the first time. She looked at him. There was something different between them after that bike ride. But she pushed that idea away. She liked Gendry, she wanted Gendry.

Once the pissing contest was over between Gendry and Jaqen she started looking around the party. Arya dragged Hot Pie away and Thoros went with Gendry. Beric was there laughing with Jaqen. They were laughing and smiling. Myrcella didn't know anyone else so she stuck by Aegon.

"Do you know anyone here?" She asked. She was nervous. She never had to deal with this feeling at a party at her house. If things got to be to weird she went to her room. Here she could not do that. So Aegon was her safety belt.

"A few, but I don't want to go say hi to them. Lets go see what is going on." Aegon said grabbing her hand and leading was her over to the hallway, deeper into the house.

They found a room that had a gaming system and big TV set up. There was no one in the room. Aegon decided to check out what was what, as he put it. He gave a small whistle.

"This is all pretty expensive stuff." Aegon said. He was hunched dow looking at the equipment practically drooling over it. Marcella had to smile. She was okay with being ignored by a hot guy for electronics.

"I know what I like. Do you want to play?" Jaqen said from the doorway. Myrcella jumped at the sound of his voice. She was unaware that he had even been there.

"That would be really cool man." Aegon said. Myrcella watched as they played a racing game and Aegon won. They were laughing as they left the gaming room. Jaqen might be weird, but get him away from Arya he was pretty cool.

When they got back to the main room they found Arya with a drink in her hand. Myrcella was shocked to see Arya drinking. She headed over to where the other guys were at and picked right back up flirting with Aegon in front of Gendry. She found that she enjoyed Argon's wit and the way that he flirted back. She was having a good time at the party. They were talking about games, something thanks to Tomen she knew a lot about. Then there was something different. Hot Pie and Thoros stopped talking. She turned over and looked at what was causing everyone to stop talking.

Arya was with Gendry and they seemed to be dancing. But it was more than dancing. They were moving together as if they were made for each other. She watched as Arya took a large swig of her drink. Then Arya laughed at something and walked away into the kitchen, Gendry followed. Myrcella did not like the look in Gendry's eye. She had seen it all her life on her father's face and then in Jofferys. It was the same look they got right before they hurt someone, either with words or their hands. She started to follow when she felt a hand on her arm. Aegon was holding her back.

"Let them go for the time being Myrcella. We can go see what is going on in a moment. Let them talk." Aegon said. He was calm and was trying to soothe her, as of he knew what she was feeling.

"He looked like he was going to slap her. I will not let that happen. It is not her fault; you can't let him hit her. I have seen the look on someone else's face before, right before things go bad. I will not let that happen to Arya." She struggled to break free of Aegon. He held her arm tight, but not to tight. Just enough to keep her back.

"Hold on Myrcella. Whatever he is feeling he won't do anything. All he wants to do is talk to her. He is really confused at the moment." Aegon said. "I don't really blame him. Arya Stark is a little unnerving. There is something about her. But don't you worry about Gendry. Myrcella is everything okay at your house?" He had picked up on the one thing she had been hiding for so long. Something no one bothered to ask about any more.

Myrcella blinked a few times and felt the tears prickle at her eyes. She had never been asked point blank about what happened at her house. She didn't know if she was supposed to talk about what goes on behind the closed doors of The Red Keep. Her father was a drinker and her mother was strict with her. They fought all the time and she knew that her father hit her mother when no one was around. Then there was Joffery. He was evil, just pure unadulterated evil. He hit her and Tommen, all the time. He caused them to think horrible things and feel that way too. But how could she tell this to Aegon?

"Well if you lived with Joffery how do you think life is like?" Myrcella said. The first tears softly fell from her eyes. She had not meant to say that. She knew she was going to be in trouble. No one ever believed her. Why tell this boy, now?

"Come on Myrcella, lets go to the bathroom." He led her to the one off the kitchen. He was gentle and kind. There was no judgment from him, just concern.

Aegon sat her down on the toilet and handed her some tissue for her eyes.

"Is it really that bad at your house Myrcella? You can talk to me you know." Aegon was leaning against the wall watching her.

"Some times. Joffery gets angry easily. I think Tommen and I are easy targets, well not as easy as the staff. But he does hit us sometimes." Myrcella confessed.

"I am so sorry Myrcella. Is there anything that I can do for you?" Aegon had knelt down so they were eye level and took her hands in his. She felt calmed by his touch.

Myrcella gave a smell sad smile.

"No it is alright. It doesn't happen as often as it used to. I have never told anyone about it before. I am just really thankful that you asked me. And you didn't laugh at me when I told you. Or tell me I was making it up. I tried to tell someone once. I was seven. It was a teacher. She laughed at me. After that I didn't tell anyone about him hitting me. It just feels better getting it off my chest." She looked deep into his eyes. They were the most amazing shade of lavender she had ever seen. He really was some one she had over looked.

She stood up and kissed his cheek. She watched as his cheeks turned red.

"Now that you are all calmed down do you want to go get a soda?" Aegon said. He was still blushing from her kiss and she was pleased by his reaction to her.

"Sure. Then can we go get some air outside?" She needed a deep breath of clean air to clean her head.

"Anything that you want I will try to give you, you will have it. Come on." Aegon took her hand again and they went out into the kitchen.

They grabbed themselves sodas and went out to the side door that lead to the backyard. As soon as she hit the screen door she took a deep breath with her eyes closed. Aegon took her hand and pulled her out further onto the porch. She opened her eyes and started to say thanks for all the help Aegon had given her. Then they both stopped. Arya was kissing Gendry. She was really kissing him and he was kissing her back. Aegon turned and looked at Myrcella and she looked at him. They had a moment of defeat; the people that they both liked were standing there in the moonlight making out. But for some odd reason Myrcella was not as heartbroken as she always figured that she would be.

Then Arya noticed them. She broke away from a shocked Gendry and ran to the screen door. Myrcella was shocked into immobility. She did not know what to do. Gendry had been the object of her desire for so long, but he had not shown her half as much attention to her as Aegon had in the last hour. She shot him a look. Aegon's face was a mask of cool indifference. He didn't show that he was sad or angry at having caught Arya and his best friend making out. So she decided if he could do it so could she.

"Well that was different. Now what?" Myrcella asked, looking to Aegon for direction.

"We move on. They were not the people we were meant to be with." He took a step closer to her and brushed her way ward hair away from her eyes.

"So does that mean moving on?" She asked stepping closer to him. The front of their bodies were touching now. She looked into his eyes and she knew then that Aegon had been the one for her the whole time. She just had been blinded by lust to notice it. She smiled at him, took his hand and took him in the house. They needed to check in with their friends and figure out how they were getting home. It was getting late and Myrcella didn't want to get in trouble.

Once they found their friends all she could ask was one question. "What now?"

Gendry

Gendry looked at the two people on the pourch and felt like he had a stone tied around his neck and had been thrown into a rushing river. He had been so angry that he had not been thinking. Arya was the only person who could make him loose his iron control he usually had over his temper. Watching that asshole Jaqen flirt with Arya had set him on edge. Watching her drink had pissed him off. Then when she was dancing with him she had not really understood the effect she had on him. He had a growing erection the entire time Arya had been pressed against him.

Wen she sauntered out of the room and he followed her he was ready for a fight. From what he had seen of Arya Stark she never backed down from a fight. When he took her outside he was ready for anything. Except for what had really happened. She had kissed him. And it was more than a kiss. It was pure magic. He was everything and nothing at the same time.

He wanted to do so much. He wanted to feel their skin touching, naked together. Gods she had fit perfectly agnist him. Once the kiss got good and heavy everything stopped. Aegon and Myrcella were there, looks of horror on their faces. Arya reacted like she was scared. She bolted from him. Ran into the house. Gendry did not want to go in yet and face her or his friends yet, so he walked to a swing in a dark corner of the yard. That is where Jaqen found him. He was the last person Gendry wanted to talk to.

"What the fuck do you want?" Gendry did not try to hide his contempt.

"I am checking on you. It is my job as host to make sure all my guests are alright." Jaqen said as he leaned against the tree and took a cigarette from a pack in his pocket, offering one to Gendry.

"I don't smoke." He said, shaking his head at the offer. "What do you really want?"

"I wanted to warn you to stay away from Arya. She is something special and does not need the likes of you in her life." The tip of the smoke blazed to life and Jaqen took a long drag off of it.

"That's rich, I was going to tell you the same thing." Gendry gave a slight smile. "So I guess this is the part where we dual to the death."

"Something like that." Jaqen tossed his cigarette away and stood up straight. "But I would like to tell you to really stay away from her."

"Well," Gendry said, standing from the swing and turning to face the other man. "I have the same thing to say to you. Stay the hell away from her."

"That will not be happening. One way or another she will be mine. It is destined to happen. You are a nothing and a nobody. She needs a real man. I am that man." Jaqen had taken a step closer to Gendry and thanks to the girl they were discussion he was ready for a fight. His hands were close into fists and he wanted nothing more than to punch the pretentious dick before him.

"Gendry! Come inside. Hot Pie is dancing and its a sight to be seen for sure." Thoros called out onto the yard.

"Well I guess we will have to finish this talk later. Your friends are calling you." Jaqen walked past him, bumping his shoulder into his. The impact staggered Gendry, but he fought to control his anger. There would be other days to fight.

"Before you go just remember if she picks one of us, its her choice. There is nothing that you or I can do, if she picks the other." Gendry said to the mans back.

"That's where you are wrong. If its not me I will not go quietly onto the night. So try and woo her, but know that no matter what you do, I will have her."

Gendry was left alone in the yard. He took a deep calming breath and prepared himself. Gendry was going to go I to that house, with his friends and the girl he was falling for and act like nothing had happened. He needed a drink, but he was the driver. Fuck, life was so complicated.

Sandor

He drove to his families' property just outside of town, with Sansa sitting next to him. He did not know what had caused him to think Sansa wanted to see the stars. She had made a comment about stars last week and it stuck with him. Sandor gazed at stars all the time. He wanted to see something that calmed him down and made him happy. When he had been a child he had loved to lie on his back and gaze at the start. He used to make up his own constellations. Then as he grew older he learned the real ones. He knew that if people found out that he was an armature astronomer that he would be made fun of. He was taking a big chance sharing this with Sansa. He knew that she would appreciate it, so he was willing to chance it, for her.

They drove onto the back of his property and there were no trespassing signs hung up all over. Sansa looked nervous. He didn't know if it was because she was with him, in a place that was unknown to her or because it was late. Or maybe she didn't like breaking rules.

"Are we trespassing? Can't we get in trouble if we are caught?" She looked over at him worried.

He gave a soft chuckle. She really didn't like bending the rules. "No. We are not trespassing. My family owns this property. I come up here all the time and look at the stars. I used to do it when I was a kid with my mom."

He did not know why he had said that last bit about his mom. He never talked about her. But Sansa was not just anybody. He could tell her things.

"Oh well I am glad we won't be getting in trouble." Sansa said. She looked at him and Sandor had a very strong urge to take her hand. Not only was she attractive, but she was smart and her presence soothed the usual anger and discontent he always felt. Instead of wanting to destroy something he just wanted to hold someone.

They drove through the trees until they were no longer under their cover. He stopped the car at the clearing that he gazed at the stars in. He got out of the car and went to open Sansas door and held his hand out to help her out. She kept her hand in his because the ground was uneven and she was unsure of her footing.

She stumbled and almost fell. Sandor caught her and she clung to him. Her hands were on his chest, her fingers splayed across his muscles. He took a deep breath and set her upright. She giggled and took his arm as they walked to where Sandor was leading them.

"Can you stay here Sansa? I will not be gone long. I just want to get the blanket out of my trunk so we can recline on it to see the stars." Sandor said. He always kept a blanket in his car. It was an old quilt. There was also a candle and matches, so he decided to grab that as well. He didn't want Sansa to trip again.

"Sure, but hurry. I am not a fan of the dark." Sansa said. He smiled, she just told him she was afraid of the dark. Good thing he had the candle.

Sandor went to get the blanket from trunk, the candle tucked securely under his arm. He returned to Sansa and put the blanket down on the ground. He situated the candle safely on the ground and struck a match to light it. The light was soft and muted. Sansa looked down at the blanket and then at him. Sansa sat down first looking up at Sandor expectantly. He sat beside her. They were now in an awkward silence. They had never had one before. He did not understand why. He was trying to remember if anything had changed during the week. Then he noticed shine from around Sansa's neck. It was a necklace. It had not been there before they had gone to Jofferys party. He knew what this meant. Joffery was marking his territory. She was now officially with Joffery. That was what was different. Well this was something he had been expecting. So he tried to get the strange feeling that hung over them.

"So are there any constellations that you want to see?" Sandor asked.

"Um I would love to see Perseus and Andromeda." Sansa said in a small voice.

"Are you a fan of their myth?" He asked as he leaned back to get a better view of the sky.

"Yes." Sansa said.

Sansa leaned completely back as well. Her head was resting very close to his. He could smell her hair. He was distracted with the idea of running his hands in her hair. Then he noticed the heat her body was giving off next to him. Then he noticed her shiver and realized that she was still in her cheer uniform and must be cold. He sat up and so did she. They looked at each other and he just silently took off his jacket and handed it to her then lay back down and got to the star gazing. She put it on and laid back down again, this time with her head resting on his left arm, so she could see what he was pointing out.

"Well that one there is Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother. Over there is Perseus, and that is Andromeda." His hand flew from constellation to constellation. It did not take him that long to find them. They were some of his favorite ones to find because they had been his mothers.

"Um I do believe you but I do not see them." She said. She sounded angry at herself.

"Oh. I have an idea. My mom would do this with me to show me the constellations as a child. Sit up and slide over here." He sat up. Sansa did the same. He patted the ground right between his legs. She slid into the spot he indicated. He took her hand and she leaned against his chest to be able to see the sky at the right angle. He picked up her hand and traced the constellations for her. First Perseus, than Andromeda.

"Now I see them. Thank you Sandor. How about Pegasus? And Cetus. Where are they?" Sansa asked with a child like glee in her voice. She cuddled deeper into him, pulling him around her body, as if unconsciously. Sandor felt his cock twitch.

Sandor stayed looking at the sky. He was unsure for the first time in his memory where the constellations were. All he was aware of was Sansas body pressed against him. He could feel himself growing with need. He knew that if she stayed there it would be in an even more uncomfortable position for him then it already was. But he didn't want it to end.

He cleared his voice and looked up at the stars and tried to clear his mind. He needed to find the constellations for Sansa. He closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath. He put his face back next hers and they looked up at the stars. Then he pointed the designs out for her. It amazed him that his scared face was pressed to her perfect one and she didn't move, she didn't mind. He pointed out Pegasus and then Cletus for her. Her excitement was growing with each wave of their joined hands. She fired off more and more constellations to find and with each one he showed the more she relaxed until he was pressed snuggle against him, as if she was made for him.

"They are so beautiful. I have always wanted to learn these constellations. I have always loved the story. I truly have. About love over coming all odds. There is something about it that has always resonated with me. I always felt bad for Andromeda when she was chained to the rock because of her mother. Some times I can relate with her. Having a domineering mother is not an easy thing." Sansa said. He detected a bitterness in her voice he had never heard before.

"I have always liked how Perseus saved her. It was something that I have always liked about it. When I was small and my sister was alive, we would act out their story. But it was usually my father in the place of the evil parent. I would save my sister and she would thank me with lemon cakes she and my mother would make. Those are some of my best memories." Sandor said. Again he told her things he never had told another living soul. They just sat together for a moment after his confession.

"What time is it? I have to be home by one. When we left the party it had just turned midnight." Sansa said with shock.

"Late. We should be going then." Sandor and Sansa got up from the ground, gathered the blanket and left the candle because it had burned out and then walked to the car. She held onto his arm and they got back into the car and drove her home. Sandor smiled, the night had become something that he would always remember. He had shown the girl of his dreams the stars, and she became his world.

**A/N So this one I will say I have added a whole new POV in this chapter. There is a new Gendry chapter here and I hope you all like it. Review? Okay there, done. **


	10. The Right Kind of Shoppimg

Gendry

What the hell had he been thinking? He had let Arya kiss him. He had kissed her and had wanted more. What in the name of all the gods in the world was he thinking, going after her like that? He wanted to make her stop drinking, to make her see what she had been doing was not her. But once they got outside he had seen how wild and untamable she was. And when he shook her, the way her body had moved had mesmerized him. All he had wanted to do was open the tight black sweater she was wearing and burry his face in the mounds of her chest. He had felt a little foolish letting her be the one that initiated the kiss, and how she had taken control of the kiss. But it had felt so god dammed good. He had not waned it to end.

Then it had all been stopped before things had gotten to out of control. Seeing Myrcella and Aegon standing at the back door pulled him back down to earth. Arya had run into the house. The remaining three just stood there looking at each other. Aegon wouldn't meet his eye and Myrcella looked confused. But the things that he did not notice in their faces were anger, hurt and sadness. He had expected to see those emotions in their eyes. The lack of them was something that he did not understand. They almost looked relieved. Once they went inside he took some time to cool off.

Then the most bizarre conversation of his life took place. Jaqen had warned him to stay away from Arya. It was in that moment that Gendry had decided to keep Arya closer than before. He would try to get into her life in any way that he could, even if that meant staying in the fries d zone. It was more than desire now, it was a competition, and Gendry never backed down once a challenge was raised. Jaqen had sure as hell raised a challenge. There was a reason he was called the Bull.

Half an hour after the incident Arya had found him and the rest of the group. They had been standing around in the center of the room and were laughing and joking. Arya had been hiding from the rest of the group from the moment they kissed. Myrcella was quiet and standing next to Aegon. They kept stealing glances at each other. He noticed that whenever he was looking at them looking at each other they stopped looking at each other. There was something going on there he was sure he would have noticed if he was not hyperaware of Arya.

Arya was silent as she stood with them and they were tense. At eleven thirty they decided that they were all partied out. Aegon hopped on his bike and said that he would talk to him late. Arya climbed into the back seat of his car. Myrcella went next. Hot Pie tried to squeeze into the back seat too but he wouldn't fit. He laughed and traded spots with Beric. The other three got into the car and they went home. He let the guys got out at Hot Pies house, and then he drove the girl's home. He wanted to say something to Arya, but he did not want to do that until they had a chance to be alone. Marcella was still shooting glances between the two of them, so he couldn't really talk to her. Once they were out of the car he felt relieved, but empty. Then he went home. That was the only thing he could do. He parked his car in the garage and hopped out. He walked into the house and went to his room. As he had sat down on the bed his phone chimed.

_So you kissed her? - Hot Pie_

_Yeah - Gendry_

He tried to not smirk about it but he couldn't seem to stop. It was one hell of a kiss.

_So what was it like? That was from Beric by the way. I wouldn't have asked you that. – Hot Pie_

_Short, it was to short. – Gendry_

The texts stopped after that. He sat on his bed thinking. Then there was another chime on his phone.

_Gendry I have a problem. I think I asked Myrcella Baratheon out. – Aegon_

_That is a problem? – Gendry_

_Yeah. She has a thing for you, always has. I don't get it. –Aegon_

_Are you mad at me? - Gendry_

_For what getting kissed by Arya? Dude I am happy that it was you not that weird guy Jaqen. And if things pan out with Myrcella I don't really care. – Aegon_

_So what are you and Myrcella going to be doing? Was it a real date or what? –Gendry_

_We have plans after rehearsal next Saturday to go for a drive. –Aegon_

_That should fun. –Gendry_

_I hope so. She told me some stuff tonight, man it was messed up. –Aegon_

_Everyone is messed up Aegon, even princesses. They get even more fucked up then the rest of us. – Gendry_

_Yeah you are probably right. –Aegon_

_Dude I need to get to bed its on one in the morning. –Gendry_

_Shit I didn't even realize the time. Yeah I got to go too. – Aegon_

Well if Myrcella was gone and out of the picture and Aegon was out of the running for Aryas attention then it should be smooth sailing. Arya kissed him right? But then again she had been drinking and if the few drinks she had consumed could mess that much with her then she was the textbook definition a light weight. Gendry was not one for taking advantage of a situation and didn't want this one to bite him in the ass.

But something that Aegon said was bugging him. Jaqen was the problem. And Arya sure did light up when she saw the guy. But what did that mean? Did she like him or that Jaqen? He knew enough about Arya to know not to ask her point blank, she would either hit him, ignore him or be way to honest for his liking. He would just have to let time play out until she knew what she wanted to do. But he was not going to make it easy on her. He was going to woo her and make r fall for him, that was his plan and he was sticking to it.

Be went to bed that night thinking of ways for them to spend more time together. Before he fell asleep he fantasized about them changing a rigs oil and getting all dirty and having to strip down to nothing. He fell asleep with a full erection. It was not the first time that had happened since Arya walked into his life and he was sure it would not be the last.

Jaqen

When everyone had left the party, or as most of his guests would flame be threw them out, he went to his studio. He got a new canvas out and put it on his easel and prepared his paints. He just stayed looking at the blank canvas for what felt like hours. Then he started to work. He painted blending the colors. Blues, greens, purples, greys, browns and black. He painted a clearing in the woods with a lone wolf. She was howling up at the moon. He knew why he had painted this wolf that night. It was because of her, the lovely girl.

Since he had first set eyes on Arya Stark he had felt the whole world shift. That small girl was something that could not be ignored. Her beauty was incredible, her brain magnificent, and her talent was beyond words. She was every guys dream. Jaqen knew that she was his.

He cleaned his brushes and stood back to look at his work. It was like the others that he had done before. He had painted Arya many times in the last week and he would paint many more to come. She was his muse and his curse. She might not always be human, but her but he captured her spirit on his canvas.

Jaqen walked out of the studio and went onto the kitchen. What was he going to do about the enigmatic girl? He wanted to get close to her, but that bull headed Gendry was in his way. What she ever saw in him Jaqen did not know, but if he wanted a fight he would give him one. Had be not declared himself that vary night? He would go for her, no matter what that Bull had to say. He had felt the way she had tremble when he had touched her. He had to fight every instinct not to kiss her there in the hallway.

He knew he had to move slow, take his time, and show her what he was like. That was the only thing that he could do. Jaqen was confidant that if he did that she would be his. Nothing he had ever wanted had ever gotten away from him, and Arya Stark was not going to be the first thing to get away. No matter what it took, or how long he would have her. There was no doubt about that.

Sansa

She had had an amazing time with Sandor after the party. She couldn't believe that the large rough man like Sandor had such a wide knowledge of stars. If Sansa could have picked a first date the night with Sandor would have been it. But Sandor wasn't her date or her boyfriend, just her friend. Sansa was so glad she had made a real friend in Kings Landing. She didn't even feel bad when she had come home ten minutes after curfew. Her father had not been pleased, but had let her off the hook because it was her first time ever being late. He had asked her who she was with and when she told him it was Sandor he had looked confused.

"Aren't you dating Joffery Baratheon?" Ned asked confusion all over his face.

"Yes. But he had had something to drink at the party and it was not safe for him to drive me home. Sandor said he would drop me on the way to his house. So that's what we did." Sansa shrugged and slimed as she said it. Ned just looked at his daughter. She knew she looked like a fool with a huge smile and her uniform on still, but nothing was going to rain on her happiness. Her father shook his head and seemed to decide something.

"If you had your own car you wouldn't have been late. Tomorrow we are going to go car shopping. I know that you like to shop." Ned said. He gave a small smile, but still looked confused.

"Truly daddy? I am getting my own car? A new one?" She asked amazed. She had been asking him for a car since she learned to drive.

"Yes Sansa. And if your mother asks you were home ten minutes early. We both know how she worries." Ned gave her a hug and ushered her up to her bedroom.

Sansa walked up the stairs to her room. She noticed that Aryas bedroom light was on and she walked over to see what her sister was doing awake at this hour.

"Myrcella I don't know what came over me tonight. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. I was not thinking." Aryas voice was muffled and hard to hear. Sansa suspected that Arya had flung a pillow over her head.

"It is alright Arya really. I have been trying to get Gendrys attention for over a year now and he never went for me. If you two like each other I don't mind really." Myrcellas soft voice floated to Sansa.

Sansa decided at that moment to knock on the door. Arya called her into the room and she saw the two other girls sitting on Aryas bed in their PJ's.

"What is going on?" Sansa asked as she came in.

"Not much. Hey you were home past curfew. Are you in trouble?" Arya asked. Arya always liked to gloat on the few times Sansa cad gotten in trouble. Sansa shook her head and smiled at her sister. It was her turn to gloat.

"No. Dad is taking me out to get a new car tomorrow. So I wont have to depend on others to get me home and being late again. But if mom finds out I will be in deep trouble." Sansa said laughing as she sat down on the floor by the bed.

"Why are you back so late? Were you at the party at my house this whole time with my brother?" Myrcella asked.

Sansa looked at her hands that were resting on the bed. She felt her cheeks color and she gave a soft smile remembering what happened with Sandor and the stars.

"Um well, no. I went for a drive with Sandor Clegane. He was nice enough to bring me home." Sansa would not look up at Arya and Myrcella when she said it.

"You like him don't you?" Arya asked. Sansa looked at her sister. She had a boyfriend. You can't like more then one person at a time. She was just about to say this, but Marcella spoke first.

"You should talk Arya." Myrcella laughed, she looked down at Sansa and dropped a bomb. "Your sister likes two guys and there is a third one that kind of likes her to. And she kissed one of them and had an intimate moment with another one."

Sansa was shocked to hear that her sister had kissed a guy. Her baby sister had kissed someone and had not told her about it first thing?

"Who was it?" Sansa asked. She was sitting up higher so she could see her sisters face that had turned near purple in embarrassment.

"Gendry. We went to a party at this guy Jaqens house. He likes Arya too." Myrcella said. "But she doesn't know who she likes more. And from what I saw of that kiss tonight I say her body likes Gendry, maybe a little to much."

Arya flung the pillow over her head and fell back on the bed and groaned loudly. Sansa did the sisterly thing and tried to turn the attention to her.

"Well I was kissed by Joffery. He also gave me this necklace. I guess I am dating him now."

Myrcella looked at Sansa as if she was stupid.

"Sansa are you sure you want to be dating him? You don't really even know him." Myrcella blurted out. She looked away and Sansa thought there was more the other girl wanted to say, but didn't.

"I already said that I would be his girlfriend. He hasn't done anything to me yet that makes me think that he is anything but a gentleman." Sansas tone was defensive and the other girls let the matter go. "Well I am off to bed. I have a car to buy tomorrow."

Sansa went to her room and fell to sleep. She woke the next morning early like she did every day, but because it was the weekend she allowed herself to sleep until eight. She went and showered and got dressed for the day. She had to admit that one of the nice things about living in the South was that even though it was winter time here she didn't have to bundle up under so many layers that completely hid her figure. She slipped on a nice pair of fitted jeans, a white tank top and a red cardigan sweater. Her hair she left down, but popped a head band on to keep her bangs out of her face. Then she snagged a pair of white flats with little red bows on them. She headed down to the kitchen for breakfast and found the faithful Mrs. Clarkson there cooking up a storm.

"Morning Mrs. Clark. What is that wonderful smell?" Sansa asked.

"French toast. Let me make you up a plate." Her found face was flushed and the smile she gave off was contagious.

Mrs. Clark set the dish in front of Sansa and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar in it. Sansa looked up at Mrs. Clark.

"I know that you don't like coffee, but you were out late last night and you will need this to get the day started. Are you going to tell me what happened last night and what is bothering you or you going to suffer in silence until you burst?" Mrs. Clark asked. She gave her a kind, but penetrating stare.

Ever since Sansa was a child she had always came to Mrs. Clark for advice. She never judged Sansa and would always tell her the truth. She shared things with her that she could never dream of telling anyone in her family and she trusted her completely.

"I went to a party. Joffery was throwing it for winning the game. He sort of demanded that I be his girlfriend and he gave me this expensive necklace. I felt obligated to say yes. And I should have been happy about becoming his girlfriend. I mean he is handsome, wealthy, popular, everything that a girl would want. But there is something about him, something under the surface that is not okay. I can't put my finger on it, but whatever it is it is not good." Sansa told Mrs. Clark her suspicions of how he threatened Arya and that she had seen him belittle the younger students at the school.

"Well dearie if you do not think he is stable you should not be with him. There is someone right out there for you. But I don't think that he was the reason that you were home so late. Out with it, time to spill it for the cook." Mrs. Clark said tapping the coffee mug that she had that said that exact sentence.

"I was with a friend. The first one I made when we moved here. His name is Sandor. He is Jofferys best friend. Or that's what everyone says they are. But I don't think so. Joffery just uses Sandor and he sticks around him for reasons I cannot understand. We left the party about an hour before I was supposed to be home. He sort of took me star gazing. If it had not been for Joffery it would have been a perfect night." Sansa was gazing out the window as if she could still see the constellations from the night before.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you like this boy, a lot as well. If that is the case why are you with his friend and not him?" Mrs. Clark asked.

Sansa had been asking herself this question since he dropped her off last night. She sat there remembering what had happened right before she had ran into the house last night. Sandor had come arund to her side of the car and let her out, walked her to the door of the house and started to leave. On impulse she called him back to her.

"Could I have your phone number? I might need some help for chemistry and you did say that you would help me catch up." Sansa knew that this was a lie so she could just get his number. If she truly needed help she would ask Robb to help her out. She just wanted his number so she could have it.

He nodded his head and took her phone and programed his number into it. She had been thinking about it all night and morning. Did she really like him? If she did what was she going to do? She was dating Joffery now.

"Joffery will help me get to be Queen. You know why I want that. I just don't see any other way." Sansa hung her head.

Mrs. Clark put her hand on Sansas shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Well if this is the path that you have set to follow I hope that you are ready for what lay ahead. It sounds like it might be a difficult one." Mrs. Clark said with a sad smile on her face.

Just then Catelyn walked into the kitchen with Arya and Myrcella beside her. Arya looked cranky but Myrcella looked wide awake.

"Can I have some coffee?" Arya asked grumbling as she sat down in a chair at the bar.

"Sure thing dear. Cream and sugar?" Mrs. Clark asked pretending as if she and Sansa had not been having heart to heart chat moments before.

"Both. I need the energy. Myrcella woke up at an ungodly hour on a weekend." Arya grumbled.

"It is nine o'clock. Hardly ungodly. And you were the one who said that you wanted to get up early so that you could go with Sansa car shopping. You wanted to make sure she didn't get a lemon, whatever that is." Myrcella said from beside the snappy Arya.

"I know what I said. I just wish that my body understood." Arya lay her head down on the table and cradled the coffee in her hand.

Sansa laughed. It was just like Arya to want to go shopping for cars. She went back to eating her breakfast. She had a lot to think about, a lot to digest, and she didn't mean the food.

Arya

Myrcella had woke up at eight and had started practicing her dance moves. When Arya chucked a pillow at her she had caught it and used it to do some complicated spin thing.

"Cut it out. I'm trying to sleep." Arya growled.

"And I am trying to practice. I have a recital in two weeks. You will be seeing me doing a lot of this until then." Myrcella retorted, continuing to twirl, leap and stretch.

Arya had slugged out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She took a shower. She felt like shit. Those drinks had left her hung over. She was never drinking again. It made her do stupid things, like kiss Gendry. She should not have done that sober. It gave him hope and hope to a guy that liked you was bad. But she still had a problem. There were three guys that liked her and she was not sure if she liked them. Well that was not true. She could take Aegon off the list, he was just a friend. But that didn't make things easy for her. Things were so much easier up North.

After her shower she did her hair into a pony tail and she knew that her mother would not like it. The purple on the bottom layer of her hair was visible. She tried to wear it down around her mother but today she didn't care. She had a splitting headache, felt like shit and was more confused then she had ever been in her entire life. Her mother was just going to have to get over herself.

She went to her room and found Myrcella already dressed and waiting to go get breakfast. She went to brush her teeth and Arya got dressed. She choose comfy clothes that day, like what she used to wear at Winterfell. Except the pants were a little more fitted and hugged her butt. She picked one of the tee shirts that Jon had gotten for her when he went away to college. She liked showing off her body now and tied a knot in the back so that it was not as loose as it usually was.

She went out of the bedroom and waited for Myrcella to come out of the bathroom. They made their way down to the kitchen. They ran into Catelyn in the hallway.

"Good morning girls. Mrs. Clark is making French toast for breakfast. Are you going to the kitchen?" Catelyn was trying very hard not to make a comment about her daughters hair and start another fight.

"We are mother. Are you going to be going with Sansa to get her new car today, or is it just father?" Arya asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Just your father. Rickon wants to see if they have hockey here." Catelyn said as they got to the door to the kitchen.

Arya asked for coffee and tried to get a few moments sleep at the table. Myrcella and Sansa had a discussion about what kind of a car that Sansa wanted. For some crazy reason Sansa wanted a Mini Cooper. Red, the color of her nails, if it was possible. When Arya heard this she choked on her coffee. Sansa was such a girl to want her car to match her stupid nail polish.

The door to the kitchen opened and Rickon came in with their father. Ned looked as tired as Arya. He sat down at the table and picked up his newspaper and took his cup of coffee from Mrs. Clark. He didn't look at anyone at the table and Arya had an idea that he had slept less then she had. Rickon went and sat at the island on one of the stools next to Sansa and they started talking about hockey.

"Father, can I come with you and Sansa to look for a car for her?" Arya asked her father moving over to her father the table.

He looked up from over his paper and gazed at her with red sleep deprived eyes.

"What? Oh yeah, that's right I told Sansa that I would take her to find a car today. Sure Arya why not. I am sure you could be more of a help to her then me. Why don't we leave in the next half an hour or so? I have to get into the office today. Something happened last night. I hope Sansa knows what she wants. I don't have all day to be out."

"She has an idea. A really stupid one." Arya grumbled.

"Don't make fun of your sister. She doesn't make fun of you." Ned scolded.

"She does, just when she knows that you are not around to hear. But that's what family does. It's our right to tease each other." Arya smiled at her father as she said this and then took her cup and went for a refill.

She was on her second cup when her father stood up from his chair and went over to Sansa. They had a small chat then she went out of the kitchen. Her father went and talked to her mother. They talked and then Catelyn walked away from the kitchen with Rickon. Myrcella and Arya stayed in the kitchen with Mrs. Clark and Ned. When Sansa came back they all left the kitchen and went out to the car.

"Do you want to come along Myrcella or do you want to go home?" Ned asked Myrcella as they were on their way out of the drive way.

"Can I come with you? I won't get in the way and I am sure I can help keep Arya away from every fast car that she sees and from trying to get Sansa to get them." Myrcella answered, looking at Aryas face as she said it.

"Hey I wouldn't do that. I would pester my dad to get them for me. Sansa wouldn't know what to do with a good car if it bit her on the ass." She smirked at her sister and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Arya that is not something that a young lady should say. Maybe you shouldn't be in shop class after all." Ned said, looking in the review mirror to see his daughter in the back seat.

"Sorry dad. I will try to talk like a lady around you from now on." Arya said. She knew her dad was joking, so she went along with it. She settled back to get to the car lot and do some shopping she could enjoy.

Myrcella

She had never seen how a normal family interacted and was fascinated in how the Starks acted with each other. There was a playful feel to the house. The Stark parents were loving and openly affectionate with their kids. They laughed with them and went out of their way to let each child feel loved. She didn't know what that was like or how Catelyn and Eddard did it. They had five children living with them and three up North. Her parents only had three kids, and they did not show an ounce of the affection and attention that the Starks showed their children.

Part of her wanted to stay with the Starks forever. Maybe they could adopt her. She knew that they had adopted Theon Grayjoy when his parents died and that they had adopted Eddards sisters son when she had died. She knew that it was not possible but she hoped that they could adopt her.

She loved the way that Arya and Sansa teased each other, but obviously loved each other. She wished that she had that with her brothers. Maybe if they had been raised in an atmosphere like the Starks she and her brothers might have had what the Stark kids had together. But she doubted it. Joffery would never be nice to her or Tommen. She hoped that there was a chance that Tommen would be different and not cruel like her older brother. After watching how the Starks acted together she vowed to not let her parents or brother beat that sweet loving part of Tommen out of him. Her mother said that she was a lioness protecting her cubs from the world, but her mother had not seen what Myrcella would do to protect her baby brother.

Ned pulled the car into the dealership. They piled out and a sales man came oiling over to them to schmooze them and dazzle them into a new car. Sansa told the man what she wanted and Arya scoffed and snorted the entire time. Sansa looked over at Myrcella and she took Arya away so that Sansa could look for her first car in peace.

"Let's go out and look at the cars on the lot Arya. I am sure that it will be more fun then sitting in here with the sales guy and your dad." Myrcella said pulling Arya out of the lobby and out into the lot.

Arya was like a kid in a candy shop. Every car that she saw was amazing. Myrcella couldn't help but laugh. If you looked at her Arya would be the last person you would expect to know anything about cars, but she was a walking encyclopedia of facts about cars. She figured this might be one topic that Bran knew less then Arya. They walked around for an hour looking at the cars as Sansa and Ned talked to the car guy. Then they walked out to where they were.

"They say that they have the car that I want here on the lot. They have the exact one that I want!" Sansa squealed skipping to where Myrcella and her sister were standing. She grabbed their hands and started to jump around. "They are bringing it around to let me test drive it and if I like it daddy says that I can have it."

"That is cool Sansa. I am surprised that you knew what you wanted. Even if it was just for looks more then anything else." Arya said dancing with her sister. Sansas excitement was contagious.

"Miss Stark the car is here. If you would come over here we could start the test drive." The sales man said, indicating to a two door Mini Cooper, red like Sansas nails.

Myrcella smiles as she watched how happy Sansa looked. Ned looked dubious at whether he would fit in the car. After a very comical moment of Ned trying to get in the car he finally shook his head and said that there was no way that he could fit in the backseat. The sales guy got into the backseat and Ned took the front passenger. Sansa slid into the driver's seat and they were off.

"So, I didn't get to tell you last night because you were in self-denial, but I think that I said yes to a date with Aegon next Saturday." Myrcella said while she kicked a rock as they walked around the lot.

"What! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Arya shrieked.

"You were so confused and guilty last night that I didn't get around to telling you." Myrcella mumbled.

"Well you could have told me that. It would have helped me stop mopping." Arya said.

"I am telling you now. But I don't know if it is that good of an idea. I mean I still have a small thing on Gendry. That is not going to go away overnight." Myrcella confessed.

"I still feel bad for kissing him. I should not have done that. I knew that you liked him and I kissed him anyway. I am a bad friend. I am surprised that you are talking to me." Arya said.

"Look Arya like I said last night I have been trying to get Gendry to notice me for more then a year, so I know that he isn't into me. He likes you; a blind person can see that. So what are you going to do? I know that I am going to go out on a date with Aegon, so that might be one less guy chasing you. That just leaves Jaqen and Gendry. So the big question is which one are you going to pick?" Myrcella asked.

"I don't know Myrcella. I don't know either of them well enough. We haven't been here to long. And I do not feel comfortable just dating some guy. I want to get to know them first." Arya said, sounding sincere as she said it.

"So you get to know them and then pick. That sounds like a plausible thing to do." Myrcella said nodding her head. "But how long are you going to take before you decide?"

"I do not know. I want to make the right choice. I have never had a boyfriend before." Arya admitted.

"Seriously? That is, um, really? As in seriously?" Myrcella was shocked.

"Really Myrcella. I was not popular back home. That was Sansa. She has always been the go getter in the family. But she has never had a serious boyfriend either." Arya said.

Myrcellas stomach turned. If that was true it would explain why Sansa would blindly date Joffery. She had to try and get Sansa away from Joffery. To do this she would need help. She remembered that Sansa had blushed when she admitted to being with Sandor Clegane. Maybe he was the answer to the question. But for the time being she had to let Sansa do what she was doing and she just hoped that she was smart enough not to get hurt to badly.

The red Mini Cooper pulled back onto the lot and Sansa stopped the car and hopped out. The smile on her face was huge and she looked like she was in love with it.

"It looks like Sansa is getting her car today." Myrcella told Arya. But when she looked over at Arya she was on her phone, her thumbs flying over the keys. Myrcella pinched Aryas arm to get her attention.

"Ouch. What the hell was that for Myrcella?" Arya yelled.

"They are back. Who the heck are you talking to?" Myrcella demanded.

"Jon. I am getting his take on what happed last night. Right now he is reading me the riot act for drinking. But he is such a hypocrite; he drank all the time at my age when he went to parties. But he has always given me good advice and I trust what he thinks." Arya said.

"Oh. Well I think that we should go see what your sister is doing now. She looks like she is walking on a cloud right now." Myrcella giggled looking at Sansa as she danced around her father and her new car.

Today had been fun. Myrcella didn't want to go home. They stayed on the lot and Sansa signed the papers and she got her car. Then it was time to go home. Back to the Red Keep and the evils that lived there.

**A/N Not much change to this one. But I still want to know what you all think. **


	11. Sardines

Sansa

She couldn't stop looking at her car. She had put up a dozen pictures of her it on her Facebook page and had asked her friends to help find it a nickname for it. She got quite a few suggestions as to what to name her car but none seemed right. They were all suggestive and she did not want to have a sexual connotation to the name of her car so she ignored most of them. There were suggestions like 'popped cherry', 'fire cracker', 'red rocket' and many other horrible names. The worst one was from Joffery. He said that she should call her new pride and joy Sansa's Bush, because if she was a natural red head her and her car should completely match, upstairs and down. She had not known what to say. Her boyfriend was a creep. She wanted to sock the creep.

She woke up on Monday fully intending to tell Joffery off when she saw him. She even had a little speech ready and everything about if he wanted to keep her as his girlfriend he had to tone the vulgarity down. She was going to use the word vulgarity but figured Joffery wouldn't understand what it meant. She had dressed a pair of high waist shorts that were a sea foam green and a coral colored scoop neck tee. She loved that it was autumn and she was able to go around in shorts and a tee shirt with a light cardigan as a cover and wedge candles not snow boots.

After a quick breakfast she ran outside to try to clean the already spotless car. Sansa took some more pictures and just sat there waiting for school so she could drive. She loved driving the car. Sansa now understood what Arya was always going on about when she talked about cars. Her sister once said when you find the right car its like finding your soul mate, something just clickers. Sansa sure felt that way about her baby.

She drove her car to school Monday with Bran and Arya arguing the entire way there. Sansa would have drove the long way to school but there was only so much she could stand of her siblings bitching. She parked her car in what she felt was a safe place so that nothing would happen to it. There was no one around her. Arya complained that they were so far from the door and that she had to walk but Sansa didn't care. No cars around meant no dings, bumps or scratches to her car. She got out of the car and she saw Sandor getting out of his three lines over. She smiled and waved to him. He nodded his head and walked to the school.

It confused her that he didn't even wave, just nodded his head and rushed into school. She felt like there was something wrong and resolved that she would ask him. Sansa got her book bag and went into the building. She went to her locker and pulled out her chem book. When she closed her locker door Joffery was standing beside her with a rose in his hand.

"This is for you, beautiful girl. Do you want escort to walk you to class?" Joffery said. He handed her the rose and held out his arm for her.

Sansa smiled brightly as she took his arm. "I would love to have you walk me to class." Sansa said. She was going to start her lecture but Joff didn't close his mouth as he talked about himself the entire way she was unable to say anything but 'wow' and 'oh my'. But under all that self love Joffery was being very nice. Sansa already realized that the only time he was this sickeningly sweet was when he wanted something. She waited for him to demand what ever he was going to say. He changed the subject from him once they got to her class.

"So how did you like the party?" Joffery asked.

"It was very fun. I enjoyed it, I told you that already." She said as they stood outside the door to her chemistry class. "I really have nothing to compare it to though. I didn't do to many parties like that at home." She blushed and she noticed that he rolled his eyes a little.

"We are going to Blackwater Bay next Friday after the game to celebrate our inedible win. There is going to be a bonfire and some booze, oh and some live music. It will be a sick party. I have to go because I am the king of this school. And since you are my girlfriend you have to come with me. It will be an amazing party, almost a rave." Joffery said, looking as it was already decided and he was board with the conversation.

"I will have to talk to my parents about it. It is an away game that night and its already over an hour away. I couldn't stay to long at the party, I have a one o'clock curfew." Sansa said. She doubted she would be able to go.

"Well thats stupid. You shouldn't have to do that. Just tell them that you are with me and they will let you go." Joffery sounded so sure of himself.

"I will try to convince them Joffery, don't worry. I'll talk to my mother as soon as I get home and I will text you as soon as I get an answer." Sansa said. Joffery nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good. See you at lunch." Joffery said walking away to his class.

She went into the room and sat next to Sandor at their table. She smiled at him and turned so she was looking at him. He had been ignoring her over the weekend, he had not returned the three texts and one call she made. And it seems as if he was going to continue ignoring her. Sansa was confused about his reaction to her and so she decided to ask him but wasn't able to because the bell rang and she couldn't ask. She opened her book as the teacher started talking. She started doodling in her note book trying to figure out a way she could get her parents to let her go to the party Friday and what she did to make Sandor mad at her, she was not paying attention to the lesson. When the teacher asked her a question she jumped and was unable to answer it because she had not heard a word the man had said. Sandor came to her rescue, he knew the answer and wrote it down for her to answer, saving her butt.

She reached for her pen that had fallen out of her hand when she was startled and was feeling for it blind on the table top. As she was groping the surface of the desk she touched Sandors hand. She kept it there for a moment longer then she should have, enjoying the warmth from his hand, his skin, next to her. Then she moved away and found the pen and went back to her doodling and daydreaming; still ignoring the teacher as he tried to teach them the chemical break down of the first 20 elements of the periodic table. The thoughts in her mind were much more interesting.

She thought of what that hand that she had touched would feel like on her skin. Having that hand run over her body; touching her in ways no body had ever touched her. She was thinking about what it would feel like if he had done that when they had been star gazing; touching her naked skin and making the fire hotter in her than touching they had done with clothes on had made. In that moment when they had both sat up from the blanked three nights ago she had wanted something to happen. Something primal was surging in her below the surface. When he had taken his jacket off she had felt like she was going to spring across that small space separating the two of them and help him remove all his clothing. But when he had handed her his jacket she had felt sad and a little foolish thinking he wanted more than to keep her warm.

Sansa didn't even know that the bell had rung; she was so lost in thought, until her classmates were all standing up and leaving the room.

"Sansa class is over. Are you coming?" Sandor asked, talking to her for the first time.

"Um yes. Did we have homework?" Sansa asked, quickly gathering her things.

"Yeah. We have to go over write a review on the next chapter in the book as well as the lecture. Did you know what the teacher said today?" Sandor asked.

"No I didn't catch any of it." She admitted.

"You seemed to be taking notes the whole time. Are you sure that you didn't know what was said in the lecture?" Sandor teased.

"Hey that's not nice. I have things on my mind. I am sorry that I didn't pay attention to your satisfaction." Sansa snapped.

They walked out into the hall and headed into the rushing crowd. Sansa was glad that she was walking with Sandler. The path was always clear for them, no matter how many bodies filled the hall. Instead of forcing people to get out of the way his sheer size made the mob move. Sansa was able to not have to worry about being jostled or bumped.

"So do you want some help with what happened in class today? I can help you out after practice, if you want. I know that you have cheer practice when I have football practice, so we can meet up and study together. There is a fifties themed burger joint that I go to. They have great food and its a cool place to study." Sandor offered. They had stopped in the middle of the hall and people passed them like they were an island. He looked uncertain about his proposition.

"That would be great. I would like that so much." She said taking his offer. Then she had an idea. "Can we take my car? I just got it and I really like driving it."

"Sure. Not a problem. I would love to be the first non family member to ride in your new baby." He said as they continued to walk to their next class.

"So you know about my car?" She asked.

"Well not only did I see the tons of pictures of it in Facebook, but you sent me two pictures on my phone, one very girly text and a high pitched voicemail. Sorry I didn't get back to you. I went camping up in the hills and didn't have service."

"That's okay. Why did you go camping?" She asked.

"Two reasons. One I was asked to do some work for some people I know. The other is I needed to just get out of the house. My father was home and we don't get along." His voice was empty as he talked about his dad and she wanted to know more about him and his family. They made it to their next class and took a seat. Questions would have to wait.

Bran

He walked to his theater class and took his normal seat with the Reeds. Mr. Renly was teaching them about costumes and makeup today. He was standing up on the stage with a flowered house dress and slippers on, with a wig and so much makeup that you could see him from outer space. The bell rang and he called the class to order.

"You all might be wondering why I am dressed like this." Renly said as he waved a hand at himself. "Well the answer is that I am trying to make a point. I can be anyone when I am on stage. I transcend myself and become who I am portraying. I am a sad fifty house wife, who is depressed because my husband doesn't love me anymore and I am sickened with myself for taking a lover. You can Tel this by my dress and how I did my hair and make up."

The class chuckled and took a good look at their teacher. The murders from the students ranged from how Renly made a good looking woman to how only a man secure in his sexuality could be a woman. But the best comment was about that was one hell of a back story for a five minute lecture, they all bet that it was how Renly really felt. He called the class back into order and continued with his lesson.

"So today I want all of you to go to the costume room and find one that fits your monologue. Then I want you to get your make up box out and figure out how you will transform yourselves into your characters. We will be performing on Wednesday. Now scamper off my little actors." Renly said with a flourish to his hand and a bow of his body. Everyone sat in their seats talking to their friends about what they should dress up as.

"Do you know where the costumes are?" Meera asked.

"No idea. But we can follow the others. I am sure that they know where they are going." Bran said.

The three walked with the rest of the class to the costume room. They looked for costumes for their monologues. Bran found a nice toga and roman looking sandals. It was a deep burgundy and Meera said Mark Anthony would wear something like this. She found him a large brooch to pin it on his shoulder and hold his costume up. Bran thought he was going to look foolish, but Jojen told him he wasn't Bran he was an actor, so he better suck it up and put his costume on. Meera found something that she felt was queenly enough for Titania from A Midsummers Night's Dream. It was a sheer Greek stole dress that was aqua blue. She had to wear a skin colored body suit under it to make it look like she was naked under it to pull off her look. Jojen found some armor and a crown for himself to help him become King Henry. Je had the easiest costume to wear. Bran bitched about Jojen was wearing more clothing then him and Meera combined. Jojen flipped him the bird and they laughed till tears streamed down their faces. They took their choices and went to the backstage area that had the makeup stations ready for them. They sat down next to each other and Bran just looked at the containers in front of him.

"Okay Meera, you're the girl here. How do we use this stuff?" Bran asked completely out of his depth.

"Does it look like I wear this stuff Bran? Just because I am female doesn't make me the defector makeup guru. Just read the instructions on the box." She snapped. She looked as lost as he did. He had never seen her in make up like his sisters.

"Fine. I will figure this crap out myself." Bran snapped back.

He picked up the box and read how to apply the stuff to the face. He opened the one called foundation and picked up the sponge. He dipped it into the goo and watched as the people around him pressed the goop filled sponge to their faces so he did the same. The make up was cold and he felt all his pores clogged. Once he covered his entire face he looked at the next step. He picked up a slightly dark pencil up, read the instructions again and knew he had to draw lines on his face. He crinkled up his face to make his natural lines and emphasize them.

"So Bran did you talk to your sister about Friday night and what happened to her?" Jojen asked in a soft voice. His friend was applying blush to his cheeks. Bran didn't want to answer the question. But he had to.

"Um, yeah. I got a second hand account of what happened. Then I confronted her and everything that you said was going to happen did happen." Bran sat done the pencil and looked at the instructions again and saw he had to line his eyes. "I said that if things with Arya happened the way that you said would I would try to believe you." He closed his right eye and lined it. "But you have to understand that I am skeptic by nature and I do not completely believe you." Bran said, lining the other eye.

"I can deal with that. Do you want to learn how to do what I do?" Jojen asked applying his mascara now.

"I would like to understand it better. If that is what you are saying, yes." Bran said as he looked at his face. He had a really bad tan all over his face now. "Now what do I do? I got this foundation crap all over, did the liner on my face and eyes. What's next?"

"Mascara, powder and blush. I can help you if you want." Meera said as she swiped gold and blue eye shadow all over her eye lids.

"You are such a girl now." Jojen said. His face was made up but he was putting gel in his hair to try and flatten it down so the crown would stay.

"Oh shut up you. Now what are we going to do with my hair?" She picked up a hair brush and tried to arranged it in a queenly fashion. After the third attempt she was satisfied. She put a fancy head piece on her head and turned to Bran. "What do you think? Do I look like a fairy queen?"

"You look like the ass that falls in love with the queen." Jojen teased his sister.

"You do not look like an ass. You look very lovely." Bran said trying to figure out how to apply mascara. He ended up poking himself in the eye so Meera took over and finished his makeup. They brushed down his hair and Meera got a few waves to form. Once in his toga he looked very Roman.

Mr. Renly walked back stage to check on their progress. He wandered to the other students before coming over to Bran and the Reeds.

"You guys look so nice. I can see the characters from the great plays coming to life before my eyes. Meera you look amazing. Very much like Titania. And Bran you need to do something to your hair. It is okay, but not perfect yet. Keep trying. Now Jojen when you put your costume on you will be every inch a king." Renly said as he walked back up the rows of the students fixing their makeup and fiddling with their costumes. "Right. I have Polaroids here for everyone to take pictures so next class we wont have to take so much time doing the make up. There is fifteen minutes left in class. If you want to keep the makeup on you can, or you can wash it off with the baby wipes and face wash after the photos are taken."

Jojen and Bran jumped up, snapped the pictures and ran to wash their faces. They stood in the line of guys to wash their faces.

"Do you want to work on the psych project after school today at the burger joint together?" Jojen asked as they finally got to the sink.

"Sure. I could use the help. I haven't picked a disorder out yet to study. Maybe I could use you." Bran joked.

"Hey that would be something. That would give you an in-depth insight to what I am able to do." Jojen said. They walked back to Meera. "Bran is going to study me for the psych project."

"That is going to be something." Meera said as she put some finishing touches on her makeup.

"You aren't washing this crap off?" Jojen asked as they grabbed their street clothes to change back into.

"I want to try make up. I know this stuff is pretty heavy, but if I get a good reaction I might buy some normal stuff." Meera said once she was back into her baggy clothes.

"But then you will be a girl." Jojen wailed.

"Jojen, buddy, she is a girl." Bran said when he emerged from the changing room.

"Yeah, but no one knows that."

"Well, I think it is time people noticed. Now lets get out of here." Meera dragged her confused brother and his dazed friend out of the theater. They walked down the halls and Bran did notice that there were more then one guy do a double take at Meera. He looked at Jojen and he was not happy. Bran wasn't either. If guys started to notice her she wouldn't want to hang out with him and Jojen any more. Something had to be done.

Jaqen

He decided that he was going to work with clay today. He had an idea for a sculpture that he was dying to make. It had really taken root in his mind after his confrontation with that Bull at his party. It was of Theseus fighting the Minotaur. The symbolism was not lost on him. He hoped that when Arya saw the sculpture that she would get the slight hints that he was telling her. He would fight for her with whatever he possessed. He would slay the evil Minotaur who tried to take her away from him.

He was standing at his work station with an apron on over a tank top. He knew that he looked half naked with the apron on over his top. It was all part of his plan. His longer then normal hair kept falling in his eyes. There was clay up to his elbows. He noticed that when Arya walked into the room she stopped moving when she saw him. He knew that he looked good and was pleased that she had noticed. He gave her a small smile, and watched as she shivered. This was all for the best. He wanted her to want his body.

Arya went over to her work station and placed the painting that she had been working on last week up on her easel. It was of a of landscape, but it was in devastation. There was something in the painting that showed something about Arya that Jaqen knew that no one else could see. There was fear and a breakable part of her that he knew that with one wrong move would shatter her fragile hidden self into a million pieces. Part of him wanted to shatter her so she would turn to him to fix her. But he knew that was not the way to do it with her. He had to show her kindness and gain her trust, so he could breach her hard outer wall.

He turned away from her and went back to creating his vision. He started with Theseus. His vanity came out in that moment, so he based Theseus off of himself. So he sculpted a lean and muscular body. He wanted to make him naked, but he didn't want to ruffle to many feathers. He spent a long time working on the lines of the body. He wanted to show off the power of the body. He spent a long time on the thighs and chest. He worked the longest on his Theseus's body. When he got to the head and the face he was unable to start it yet, so he perfected the body as much as he could while it was so wet. But that was all for the best. It gave him more time to distract Arya while he worked. He couldn't wait until he got to the killing of the Bull. He wanted to see her reaction to that.

He felt Arya standing behind him, but he ignored her until he got the chest of Theseus just right. He finally got it perfect. Then he turned and gave her a smolderingly hungry look.

"Yes Lovely Girl?" Jaqen asked trying to let his voice drip with seduction.

"I was just curious about what you were working on. I have never worked with clay before. Can I watch how you do it?" She asked pulling up a stool.

"Yes." Jaqen went back to work. He worked on the arms next. He wanted them to look strong, but not to bulky.

"What did you do the rest of the weekend?" Arya asked after several moments of silence.

"I painted and wrote some poems. Nothing out of the ordinary for me." He said. He tried to sound like he was board.

"Oh." She sounded disappointed.

"What about you?" He found himself asking. He usually did not talk when he was creating. But he wanted to talk to her.

"I helped my sister get her new car. And did homework. I guess it was a very ordinary weekend for me too" She said.

She sat there and he let her watch him work. It was something that he had never done before. He had never let another person watch him so intently before. He found it unnerving and difficult to concentrate on his work. He was starting on the finishing touches to the body and moved onto the head. After he got the shape just tight he went onto making the eyes, nose and mouth. There was a cough from behind him.

He glanced up at her through his hair. "Is there something that I can do for you Lovely Girl, or do you want to keep interrupting me some more?" He asked.

"What is it that you are making?" She asked.

"Theseus and the Minotaur. I had a compulsion to create this over the weekend but I don't have any clay to do it at my house." He said as he started get the face just right. It still looked like him. She had not noticed. He stopped working on the man and moved onto the beast.

"Oh. Well then I will let you get back to work." She said sliding from the stool. He didn't want her to move away, just as he started working on the good part.

"Are you finished with that painting?" Jaqen asked but didn't take his eyes off his work.

"Yes I am letting it dry." She said. "I didn't see the point of starting a new project when there was so little time left in class."

"I see. Well if tree is indeed so little time left I will stop for the day as well." He said.

He had gotten the basic body of the monstrous bull ready to work on tomorrow. He wrapped his sculpture up so it wouldn't dry put to much over night. He put it away in the locked storage room. He didn't want anyone to accidentally to bump it or break it. Once the door was locked he walked over to the sink and started to clean up his arms and took off the apron. He made a show of washing the clay from his body because she knew she was watching. He walked back to Arya in his tank top and jeans that were permanently stained in paint. He stood in front of her and gave a small stretch.

"Jaqen you have something on your face." Arya stood and walked over to the get a wet paper towel.

He stood still as she came up close to him. He held his breath as she wiped the clay off his face with a soft touch. When he allowed himself to breathe again her hand was still on his face making sure all signs of clay were gone.

"There, all better." Her hand fell away from his face and she stepped back. She stood and looked him in the eyes. She finally stepped away and the bell that signaled the end of class rang.

Jaqen watched her quickly gather her things and all but run out of the room, away from him, away from how he made her feel.

He smiled. His plan was working and he knew she wanted him. He just had to keep making her want him until she couldn't stand it any more. But he wouldn't give in right away at the first hint that she was breaking. He would make her wait until she wanted him so bad only he could make her better. He wanted to be a drug to her. Now that this part of his plan was in motion he needed to work on the second part. He still needed to figure out how to get Gendry out of the picture, for good.

Gendry

He used to love auto class. Working with the tools, fixing things, getting dirt stuck under his finger nails. All these things used to make him feel alive and good. But now the class filled him with trepidation. He could not seem to concentrate. On anything, when he was in the shop, or in classes, or home. His lack of concentration was really starting to get to him. And not just by causing him to day dream, mess up on class work, and band practice, but to get hurt. He had smashed his fingers three times last week, dropped a tire on his foot and got a face full of oil. Beric was always yelling at him all the time. His nerves were frayed.

He knew why he went from being a good mechanic to a total fool in the shop. Why he was letting down his friends and teachers. And the name of the cause was Arya Stark.

When he had smashed his fingers it had been when she was touched his leg while she was pulling herself from under a car. He had let go of the hood that he was holding. He dropped the tire when she punched him in the arm. The incident with the oil happened on Friday. He was to busy looking at Arya all zipped up and popping out of her jumpsuit as she leaned over a car tinkering with a carburetor. He had tripped and his face was planted into a tub of nasty oil.

Today was going to be just as difficult and challenging. She was standing with a master cylinder to a old beat up Mustang in her hand talking to the teacher. Gendry knew that it was the instructor's old junk car, and that he had been looking for someone gullible enough to take it off his hands. He could see the look in the teachers eyes that she had taken the bait and that she was going to take the old hunk of junk off the old geezer's hands.

"Thank you Mr. Smith. I think I can make something out of this heap. It is one of the good things about having a wealthy father. His money can get just about anything. I am sure that I will be able to get all the parts that I need." Arya was saying.

"It is all yours now. You can keep it here in the shop while you work on it."

"Thanks again." Arya said walking over to Gendry.

"So you bought the scrap?" He laughed. Arya had a wide smile on her face and she looked like a cat who got the cream.

"Yeah. Jon is always looking for this car. It is kind of an obsession for him. I wanted to get it for him for his birthday in March. I hope I can have it all fixed up by then." She said as she opened the hood and looked down in despair at the sad looking inner workings of a once nice car.

"Well if you need any help let me know. I don't mind working on a lost cause." Gendry said looking at the motor as well.

She smiled and jumped up and down. He watched her bounce abound and fought off his dirty thought.

"That would be great. More hands and all that. We could get it done on time that way. I better go change. I don't want to get grime all over my clothes. Then we can start. Gendry you are the best." She walked away from the car and went to change.

Gendry figured he should start working so he started to pull the bad parts out and was tossing them on the floor, and the good parts he placed out on a table. Arya came back in the tight jumpsuit that she wore in the shop. He swallowed convulsively as she bent over to tinker with the car across from him. He didn't think she was intentionally doing it, leaving it half zipped so he saw down her shirt. He had to fight the urge to pull her into the small bathroom and unzip the top of the suit she was in and let free her body for his ravenous hands devour the contours of her body. Work, he needed to work. Not act like a creep and stand there salivating over Arya.

They worked very well together. In the hour that they had for their class they had almost pulled the whole motor out of the car. That was a first for him. The time that it usually took him to pull an engine was exponentially longer doing it alone then when it was with Arya. She made lively conversation, told raunchy jokes and was not afraid to get dirty. The old saying was true, if you were having fun the work just flew by. He didn't want to end. He liked the two of them working together, without distractions. He hoped that they had been working hard enough to make her forget their kiss. She wasn't acting any different, so he hoped that was a good sign.

Arya went to change back into her clothes when the class bell sounded. He washed up and decided to wait for her to come out so they could walk to the cafeteria together to eat with the others. They were talking about how great it was that so many of the parts were salvageable and they could keep most of it original. They stood in line and grabbed trays to collect their food. He piled his with pizza, fries and cola. He noted that Arya had a salad and a single slice of pizza with a juice drink. When they got up to pay he paid for their food and went to their normal table under the windows.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." She said as they walked to their friends.

"I know. But its my peace offering for being an ass at the party." He tried to keep his tone light.

"Well if you being an ass means free food you can be an ass any time you want, Stupid." She smiled up at him.

Gendry felt his stomach flip flop. Did she just give him permission to make out with her if he fed her? He better find out what food she liked so he could act stupid any time. He had a large, very stupid grin on his face when they finally made it to their friends and sat down. She had a slight smile on her face well.

"Did you really buy the scrap from Smith?" Thoros demanded when they sat down.

Arya shot a look at Gendry. He shrugged and started eating. He might have sent a mass text to the guys so they could tease her about how it was a lost cause.

"Yes, I did. It is a gift for Jon." Arya was on the defensive. There was no way to stop her from being crabby when she was on the defensive. So much for free food making everything better.

"Anything for Jon." Aegon rolled his eyes. "You must really love your brother to buy him a hunk of junk like that." Aegon said. Gendry had to really fight mot to laugh at her face.

"That was not nice Aegon. Arya can fix it up and I think that she knows enough grease monkeys to help her out." Myrcella said rushing to Aryas defense.

"I don't mind helping out." Hot Pie chimed in. "But I know nothing about cars. But I am very good at witty conversation when tensions are rising and you feel as if there is no way that you can figure out how to get your hunk of junk to work."

"Thank you so very much Hot Pie." Arya said. She glared at the rest of the table as they all fought not to bust a gut. Gendry decided to change the subject.

"So are we playing at the bonfire at Blackwater Bay at the after party for the football game?" Gendry asked Beric.

"Yeah. I have everything arranged." He snapped. He was not happy. "Is no one going to address the elephant in the room?" Beric demanded.

"What elephant?" Gendry asked. He hoped that Beric was not going to bring up the fact that he and Arya had kissed.

"The one that has to do with Myrcella and Aegon." Thoros said. He was eating his pasta and looking at his plate, so he wasn't looking at anyone.

Gendry looked over at the two people in question. They were both blushing and avoiding looking at everyone. So there was more going on then just a date.

"We talked over the weekend and got to know each other. We decided to date. Is there a problem with that?" Aegon said. He puffed up his chest and Mycella took his hand and they placed it on top of the table.

"Hey way to go you two." Gendry said patting Aegon on the back.

"When did this happen?" Arya demanded.

"We um decided to 'go out' last night. We talked for a while and decided to try it out. And I do not want any teasing to come out of this." Myrcella said glaring at every one at the table.

"But you took a whole day to tell me? I'm your best friend. I should know these things." Arya said.

"Oh Arya. I knew I forgot something. I have a boyfriend. There, I told you. Happy now?" Myrcella said, laughing at her friend.

Arya grumbled something that sounded like stupid, boys and hormones before she went back to eating.

Gendry looked over at Beric and broke out laughing. But they were quickly stopped in their laughter by Arya. She had smacked Gendry and kicked Beric to get them to stop. Myrcella looked like she was going to murder them.

"Will you shut up? You two are insensitive asses." Arya hissed.

Gendry didn't stop laughing, if anything he laughed harder. Arya went to smack him again but he caught her hand and held it so she couldn't continue her assault on him.

"I would not do that if I were you, princess. You wouldn't like what I would do back if you smacked me again." He whispered it to her as he pulled her close. He felt the sparks flying out of her eyes. He knew that she wanted to punch him and leave him weeping on the floor.

He gave her a smile and raised his eyebrow.

"You know there are other things that can make that tension that you seem to have in spades go away that I can think of. " He whispered.

She gulped. They were so close. He could feel her breath on his face. He saw the sparks in her grey eyes and knew his blue ones were just as electric. This sexual tension was going to kill him some day, he knew it.

"You don't have the balls to do anything that could tame me." She hissed.

She tried to pull away, but he held her hand tighter. Not enough to hurt her, just to keep her there.

"I bet I do. To bad you will never know about it." He did the only thing that felt tempting and not to spectacular. He knew that their table had stopped talking and were watching the show. He kissed her hand and let her go. She went back to sitting beside him, looking at him as if he was something new.

"If that's the only game you have there Stupid, you need some better moves." Arya said and the table exploded in a loud laugh. He knew he had rattled her and that her comment was her way of gaining back the confidence he had taken from her with that one small innocent kiss. He just sat there smiling.

They finished their lunch. Their topics of conversations went back to the fig they had Friday. The band talked about set lists and lights and sound. Mycella and Arya were whispering and giggling together the rest of lunch. Once the bell rang to tell them all to get back to class they took their trays to throw away the garbage and pile the cleared trays up. Gendry was behind Arya. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. He was so close he felt her shiver as his breath hit her neck and ear.

"I have more game then you know, princess. You want to see moves, you have to ask for them. They don't come free." he left his tray and walked away. He looked back over his shoulder and he was looking at him as he walked away. He hoped he had not messed things up. He hoped he had made her want him, not scared her away.

Sandor

He had walked out of the locker room and Sansa had been waiting for him, just like she said she would be. He had watched her practice while he had been on the side lines. She was smiling and laughing with the other girls and there was an openness to her face that made him smile. Joffery kept making comments about how he sure had one hot piece of ass with Sansa. Joffery was so close to getting a beating, but Sandor just toned him out. His practice had made his mood go from happy to dark. But it brightened again when saw her waiting for him.

"Hey! I tried to read the books chapter while you were changing and I do not get this. Are you sure he talked about this all today? I don't remember." Sansa said was she all but danced over to him.

Sandor was not surprised she had not heard the lecture. He had looked at her 'notes' in class. all she had were stars all over the page. No notes or anything on the lecture. He gave a small laugh.

"I am sure. I have everything in my notes. We can compare ours at the restaurant if you want." He watched her pale slightly at the mention of comparing notes.

"No. I think your notes will be better then mine. Lets go." She skipped her way out of the hall and outside. He knew she had a mini something for a car, but he was not prepared for the real size of it.

"You have got to be kidding me. There is no way that I am riding in this car. I will not fit into it." Sandor said looking at Sansas car.

"You can fit into it. My father did." She said opening her door and looked at him from over the top. Her look was a challenge, and he never backed down from a challenge once it had been issued.

"I am a little taller then he is." Sandor said defensively. He had to play this right.

"Not by much. Just get in the car. I want to get something to eat and do this stupid chem homework. I have the stupid math to do as well." Sansa grumbles. She had also been distracted in math as well.

"I don't know why you had to pick such a small car. Only a tiny person can fit in this damn thing." Sandor leaned down to look once again into the tiny car that Sansa insisted on taking. "I have a perfectly good car that I can fit into. Why don't I drive my car and you can follow me. That way you wouldn't have to come back here."

"I have to be back here to get Arya and Bran in a couple hours, so I would have to be back anyway. Will you just get in the car?" She barked. Sandor liked angry Sansa. She got little pink circles on her cheeks. He gave in, like he knew he would.

"Fine!" Sandor bent down again. "If I get stuck I am going to pull this toy apart getting out." He put his left leg in and scrunched into the seat. "I seem to only be able to get one leg in Sansa. Is there anything you can do to help me?"

He was not comfortable. He felt like a sardine and he was only partially in. He gave her a grimace and she made the sexiest O with her mouth. She came to his side of the car and leaned down to see the controls. He would have done it himself but he liked having her this close to him. He also had a great view of her back side as she leaned down.

"Oh yeah. I can move the seat back. Give me a sec. I have not yet mastered the controls." She started pushing buttons. It took a little longer then he liked.

"That's just making it worse. Sansa I can't breathe. My knee is almost cutting off my air way." Sandor choked. His one leg was getting a cramp and be wanted nothing more then to just push back with all his strength and move the seat himself. But he didn't want to break Sansa's new car. So he let her mess with the controls.

"Sorry. How about now?"

She had finally slid the seat all the way back and lowered it all the way to the ground so he fit, finally.

"That is much better. And I can get my other leg in now. Let get this toy car on the road." Sandor said as he was fully able to get into the car and put his seat belt on.

Sansa smiled down at him and then he ran back to her side of the car. She slid into her seat. She clicked her seat belt on, turned the key over and put the car in drive. Sandor was amazed that she could look even more breath taking then normal. But the look if love and pleasure as she drove her car made her glow in a way he had never seen before. She truly was a vixen.

"So give me the address. I still don't know where things are around here." She was at a stop light. He gave her the directions and she drove to the burger joint. They got out and walked in. He had his books and took a seat. Sansa had not been kidding when she said she was hungry. She got a deluxe burger and taters tots with a chocolate soda. He got the mushroom Swiss burger and fries with a vanilla milkshake.

"You have a healthy appetite." He said as they opened the books and got down to business. They worked until their food came. Sansa refused to do anything but eat once the food came. She ate like it was her first food in days. Sandor remembered that she did not really eat at lunch today, so she probably needed this food. As she scarred the food he ate at a normal pace. Since she finished first she decided to copy some more notes and asked the occasional question to Sandor.

He wished this was not them studying, but a date. He should have asked her out before Joffery got his hooks in her. All he could do is be her friend now.

"Did you know that when you concentrate you chew the nail on your left hand pinky?" He asked when. he had finished his food.

"I did. My brother Robb always made fun of me for doing that." Sansa smiled at him. "Sandor I think I have all the notes. But we ran out of time. I didn't get to ask you for help with math." She made a sour face and they both laughed.

"Well you can always call me, or we can Skype or something later tonight. I can still help you." He said as he gathered their books and slid some cash in with the check. Sansa didn't notice and he was sure that she would have insisted on paying her share. Over his dead body.

"I know I can call you, but its not the same." She was practically pouting as they walked out of the restaurant. Sandor chuckled as he slid into the toy car.

"Oh, so you like being up close and personal with me? The sound of just my voice doesn't do it for you?" Sandor had been trying to joke, but Sansa blushed, stuttered something then pulled out of the parking lot. He had gotten to her and he liked that he now knew she liked his company, a lot.

**A/N I didn't add a POV this chapter but bulked it up quite a bit, about 4,000 words. It is a lot of fun getting to write this story again. So let me know what you think. Is it good. Heating up? Anything I should improve. This is an edit. If I still have things I need to fix let me know.**


	12. Right or Wrong

Arya

The last few days had been very challenging for her. Gendry and Jaqen were making things tough for her. They were both pursuing her aggressively. Well aggressively for her. To everyone else it was not enough. She paced in her room thinking about what to do. Gendry asked her to go out to dinner with him before he went and played with his band at the party that night. Jaqen had asked her to go to a gallery opening on Saturday night. They both claimed that they just wanted to go out with her as friends, but she knew that they wanted more. The only good thing to happen to her was that Aegon and Mycella had started dating. That was two weights lifted off her shoulders. She was down one admirer and she was able to keep one best friend.

But despite all the good things going for her she still felt like a wolf lost in winter without her pack. She didn't know who to turn to, who to ask for help. Arya felt more alone now then she had ever felt in Winterfell. At least there she had the wild country of the North to turn to for answers. Since she was at a loss for help she decided to ask the one person she knew she could always turn to for help.

She decided to call Jon. She didn't care that it was ten thirty at night, she knew he would know what to do. She hit his number on her speed dial. It took him seconds to pick up. Before he even said hello she started talking.

"Jon I need your advice."

"Little Wolf do you know what time it is? I have a test to do tomorrow. I really need to be studying." Jon said sounding wary. She could picture him witting behind his desk, books scattered all over the place. His hair would be mussed and he probably had black circles under his eyes.

"I am sorry Jon, but I don't know who else to call." She sounded deflated and sad.

"Is it more boy problems?" Jon asked. He knew everything. She would either text him with questions or send him lengthy emails. It made her feel silly, but she told him about everything, except for the car. That was a surprise.

"Um, yes." She whispered. She was glad he couldn't see how red her face became. It embarrassed her to admit she had boy troubles.

"What happened now? Is there a fourth guy trying to get you?" Jon was smiling, she could tell just by the sound of his voice. If he would have been there she would have smacked him.

"No. I am down an admirer, actually. Aegon and Myrcella are dating. So that's two problems that are resolved. But I still have two guys after me. And the part that I need advice about is that they both asked me out for this weekend. Gendry wants to take me to a gig he is playing, and Jaqen wants to take me to a art thing. They said that they only wanted to go out as friends, but I know that they want more. Should I say no to both or no to one and yes to the other? I mean they are both pretty cool and I have things in common with them both. But I don't know them enough to just date one yet. What do I do Jon?" She was talking so fast that she didn't even stop to take a breath. She even sounded like she was whining.

"Say yes to both. They said that you would only be going out as friends, so say yes to both of them and if you have a good time with one of them more then the other ask that one out to be your steady guy." Jon said. He was calm and rational about it.

"So I just go out with them both, just like that. I couldn't do that." Arya protested. "That's just weird, and cheating. I don't think I can do that."

"You can. Normal people do it all the time. It is called dating Little Wolf. It is all a part of getting older." Jon laughed. He had always told her being older wasn't as fun as she pictured.

"Then I don't want to grow up." She huffed.

"Tough shit sis. It is happening and there is nothing that you can do to stop it." Jon said.

"So I am supposed to date both of them? But isn't that cheating? Won't they get mad?" She started to chew on the end of a pen while she thought about cheating and them getting mad and everything blowing up in her face.

"Just be opened with Jaqen and Gendry. If they really like you they will understand. Tell them you want to get to know them so you really go out as friends. Just don't agree to be anyones girlfriend, because then that would be cheating. You are a smart girl Little Wolf; you will know what is right for you. Just take your time to decide who you want. Do you have any idea which one of these Argonauts that you like better?" Jon asked.

"Gendry is funny. We have a lot in common. He is the best person to work on a car with. He makes me laugh and we joke around a lot. When I kissed him there was something there. He is someone that I can talk to about with all the crazy stuff that pops into my head and we get along great. Plus he is one hell of a good looking guy." Jon groaned on the other end and mumbled something about little sisters and punching faces. "Jaqen is so different. He is so artistic and he helps me do better with my art. He is sensitive and makes me feel like I don't have to be so tough all the time. And he is so passionate about things. He sees the world on a different plane then the rest of us. He isn't the classic definition of hot, but there is something about his looks that is interesting. So you might now get why I don't know what to do Jon." She said.

"You sure know how to pick them Arya. They couldn't sound more different." Jon laughed. "It seems to me that if they were one person he would be perfect for you. Since they are two different guys you do have a problem. I have to get to studying Little Wolf. But if you need anything I am here for you." She knew this was his nice way of brushing her off. He gave her advise and it was now her place to do something about it.

"Okay. Go study. I love you big brother." Arya smiled slightly at her phone. She did love her brother. Before Mycella he had been her best friend.

"I love you to Little Wolf." Jon hung up the phone on his end.

She looked at her blank phone screen for a moment then went back to her desk. She was still unsure of what to do, but she figured that Jon had never given her bad advice before, so she would go with it.

She went to her computer and looked to see who was online. She hoped one of them would be. She looked for the little green lights that indicated a person was available to chat. Gendry was there. She took a deep and got ready to accept the first of two dates. She opened a chat box and quickly typed her question.

_So do you still want to have dinner Friday? –Arya_

Arya sat back. She had sent it out there. Now she had to wait for him. It felt like she was waiting forever, but she knew it was only seconds really until he answered back.

_Yeah. Um, hell yes I do. So do you want to go to a Thai place that I know? Or sushi? Do you like either of them? –Gendry_

Arya giggled at how eager that he sounded. It was too cute. Completely different from the cool confidant Gendry that she knew at school.

_Thai is fine. Want to meet at five? –Arya_

_How about six? I have to help load the van for the gig that night. I can pick you up at your house after I do that for Beric. –Gendry_

He wanted to come here and pick her up? That sounded more like a real date, not just friends hanging out. She did not want it to be a real date. Did it mean that she had to dress up? What if he tried to hold her hand or kiss her? This wouldn't work. Then a devious thought entered her mind.

_Um sure you can pick me up. You can meet my dad! -Arya_

He didn't reply right away and Arya couldn't help but smile. She had figured that the idea of meeting her dad would cool him down some and she was right.

_Sure, we can do that. –Gendry_

_Okay. See you tomorrow. Se have major sanding to do on the project. –Arya_

_Oh crap we do. Well shit. I hate sanding. I am an engine and how a car works kind of a guy, not a body man… Well not a car body at least. –Gendry_

_Okay you stupid creep. You think about bodies on your own time. I am going to go to bed now. -Arya _

_Even if its a body you know? -Gendry_

_Get your mind off my body! -Arya_

_It wasn't yours I am thinking about. Its Hot Pie's. Okay then. Night, sleep well. –Gendry_

_You too. –Arya_

"Well that was easy." She mumbled to herself.

"What was easy? Hey do you have a red scoop neck long sleeved shirt that I can borrow? I can't find mine and I have a skirt that I need one to wear with it." Sansa asked walking into Aryas room.

"Yeah I have one. It is hanging up in my closet, go ahead and take it." Arya said.

"What was easy? You didn't say." Sansa asked again.

"I said that I would go to dinner with a friend on Friday. That is all." Arya said with a shrug.

"That's nice. You need to go out." Sansa said grabbing the shirt and walking out of the room.

Arya sat down on the bed and looked at her phone and decided to text Jaqen. She found him and typed her text.

_Is the invitation to go to the opening still on the table? –Arya_

_Oh Lovely Girl. Everything is opened to you. –Jaqen_

_Ha not everything. But I would like to see the art gallery opening. What time is it at on Saturday? –Arya_

_Five. –Jaqen_

_Where is it at? Do you want to meet there or someplace else? –Arya_

_Do you know the 50's themed burger place? –Jaqen_

_Yeah I do. I love that place. It seems that all my friends go there. Want to meet there? –Arya_

_I know they all frequent there. Lets meet. That would be good. How about at 4:30? –Jaqen_

_That sounds perfect. Awesome, I will see you tomorrow in class. –Arya_

She had done it. Arya Stark was going to go on two dates in the same weekend. Jon had better be right. She hoped that this helped her decide who she liked more. Now that she had accepted the two contenders dates she thought of the more important aspects of going on a date, hair and clothes. Arya was useless at these things. In a mad rush she ran out of her room and bolted down the hall. She went to the only person in the entire house that would help her.

"Sansa! Sansa I need your help." Arya pounded on her sisters door. Moments later her sister answered. Her face was green with some kind of mask.

"Arya? What is it? What do you want?" Sansa asked.

"I need your help." Arya looked down at her feet.

"What kind of help? Its eleven at night. We have school on the morning." Annoyance was thick in her sisters voice.

"I, um, well I guess you could say I have a date. Two actually. I need your help on picking my outfits and what to do with my hair and make up." Arya felt her face blushing all the way to her hair roots. She swayed from one foot to the other waiting for her sister to speak. Sansa let out a little squeal and pulled her sister into her room. She shut the door and sat her sister down.

"Oh Arya. I am so glad you asked me to help you. Now tell me who you are going out with and where you are going." Sansa sat at her vanity and despite the mask she gave Arya a look their mother wore when she demanded the truth and nothing but the truth.

Arya started talking. By weld past midnight she and her sister had decided on what she should wear. Arya and Sansa had never really gotten along as children, but she realized that now as they grew older they would need each other more if they were going to survive the South.

"Thanks Sansa." Arya said as she left her sisters room. "I don't think I would have been able to get this right without you. I would have worn one of our brothers old T-shirts and grease covered jeans."

"Hey, we are sisters. We are family. That means we help each other. Night sis." Sansa shut her door and Arya walked to her room. Now after her talk with her brother and sister she now felt better about the whole thing involving the two guys in her life.

She fell asleep that night dreaming of the story of the Monitor and Theuses. But unlike the sculpture Jaqen had been working on Jaqen was the monster and Gendry the hero. She tossed and turned all night.

Sandor

Sandor found himself at the Red Keep doing Jofferys homework for him, despite the fact he hated doing this. But he couldn't say no the worm. He held to much over him. If he didn't he would make his life difficult. Be had used to beat people up for Joffery before high school. Joffery had used that leverage as a hold, until Sandoz spent a summer at the observatory and was taught that he should ask those he had wronged for forgiveness. He had done that and from that day on had not been Joffery's attack dog and only hit people who deserved it. But now Joffery held a stronger threat. His grandfather employed both his father and brother. One word to his grandfather, Joffery said, and he could have his father and brother fired. So he did the worms school work for him. As long as Joffery kept a B average the worm kept his mouth shut to his grandfather. With his family working so much they were rarely home and that left Sandor mostly alone, the way he liked it.

He was writing a paper for Jofferys English class on All Quite on the Western Front. Sandor actually liked the book, so this wasn't a hardship for him. The difficult part was dumping it all down to something Joffery would have really written. He was working on putting the 'dumbness' into the paper as he 'revised'. This was a lot harder then it sounded. Since it was a book he had enjoyed it was hard for him to not be passionate to the papers arguments.

Joffery was on his computer talking to someone over IM. Sandor was sick of hearing Joffery laughing and commenting on what he and whoever he was talking to were saying.

"This girl here says that she really puts out. I like the sound of that." Joffery cackled.

Sandor cracked his knuckles. He was going to punch the little worm in the face. He was talking to a girl when he was supposed to be Sansa's boyfriend.

"I think I am going to meet her on Friday. See if she is true to her word." Joffery said.

"What about Sansa? Aren't you taking her to the after party Friday?" Sandor asked.

"Shit I forgot about that. I can still go with her, tell this girl Ros to meet me at the party and go off somewhere with her while Sansa is occupied. Sansa is so stupid that she won't even know what is going on. Shit, that will be a rush I haven't had in a while. Fucking some whore, right under the nose of my girlfriend." Joffery laughed his high pitched laugh that set Sandor's hair on end. "Are you done with that paper yet?"

"Almost. I just have the last paragraph to write." Sandor lied. He was now just sticking around to find out what Joffery had planned to further hurt Sansa.

He went back to the paper and couldn't concentrate on what he had to write. So he just put some bullshit in that was typical to Joffery's usual dumbness. He knew that the paper was not going to get an A like Joffery wanted, but Sandor didn't give a shit about what the worm wanted. He had to get the information, then get the hell out of there before he thrashed the worm for thinking about cheating on Sansa.

"So on Friday will you keep Sansa busy while I go and have some fun." Joffery didn't ask, he ordered.

Sandor did not say a word. He just finished writing the paper. He saw Joffery finally turn away from the computer and look at Sandor for the first time. He saw Jofferys nostrils flaring and he knew that ignoring him was not helping. But he did not want to say anything to him at the moment.

"I cannot hear you dog? Are you going to look after her while I have my fun?" He demanded, his voice high pitched and whining.

"Whatever. I am finished with your damn paper. I am going home now. See you tomorrow." Sandor had just submitted the paper in for him and slammed his laptop shut.

"I do not like how long it took you to answer me Dog. Next time I ask you a question I want an immediate answer. Or you will be having a lot of family time on your hands, very soon. Understand me?" Joffery threatened.

Sandor knew that Joffery would not do anything to him just yet. He needed him to much. But he didn't doubt the worm would't take it out on someone else. There was nothing that he could really do, but he knew that he had to say something.

"Sorry. I was finishing your paper and I was not going to say anything until I was done writing it for you. You do want a passing grade on the paper right?" Sandor asked.

"Of course I do. How else am I going to get into Yale without your brain?" Joffery demanded.

"Well now you have the reason why I didn't answer you right away. Are we done now?" Sandor was tired and just wanted to be away from this mess.

Joffery gave him a long look then turned back to his computer. He waved his hand over his shoulder at him.

"You may go. I don't need you anymore for the night."

Sandor went out of the room. He couldn't get out fast enough. He usually went and checked in with Marcella and Tommen. But not that night. He all but ran out of the house, got into his car, and drove home as fast as he could. Sandor was surprised that he didn't crash. Once home he parked his car, glad to see no one else was there. Walking into the large dark house soothed his nerves. But he was still high strung from what Joffery had planned and the roll he must play. He went into his father's liquor cabinet and pulled out some whiskey. He filled a tumbler half way up and took it with him up to his room. He had experienced how Joffery handled his girlfriends and how he always cheated on them before. But to his mind there was something special about Sansa and he could not imagine how even a worm like Joffery could abuse the relationship with her. She was sexy, kind and smart. She deserved better, but it appeared she was to stupid to realize it.

He took a sip of the whiskey and went over to his computer to do some of his homework. He was usually not a drinker during the week and only indulged when he was with Joffery at parties, but after spending time with Joffery there was something that drove him to it that night. What he had felt when he had heard Joffery say he was going to cheat on Sansa was enough to make him see red. He had wanted to call Sansa and tell her that her sweet boyfriend was a dirt bag. But he didn't do that.

What he did do was draft Myrcella an e-mail. He did it because she had tried to talk to him about getting Sansa to break up with her brother earlier during the week. But he had brushed her off. But she knew Joffery better then anyone. She knew what he was capable of. He had tried to protect Sansa from her brother, despite the risk. Now he had to do the same.

_Hey Myrcella, I was with your brother doing his homework and I heard him talking about screwing some girl at Blackwater. With Sansa being there as well. I don't usually feel bad for the girls that he cheats on, but I know Sansa. She is to nice of a person let something like this happen to her. Is there a way that you could talk to her sister? If you tell her about him, she could warn Sansa and that would stop Sansa from making a mistake of bring with your brother. If you think of a way to do this before Friday let me know. I will help any way that I can to save this poor girl from the crazy depraved mind of your brother._

_Sandor._

He sat back looking at his computer. His hand was on the mouse but he hesitated on sending it. He knew that he should, Sansa Stark was his friend. They talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company. They talked about their classes and their common interests. But there was something holding him back from sending the email. He was not able to send it. He did not want to be the one to burst her fairy tale bubble. She had to see for herself how low her prince really was.

He saved the email, thinking that he could edit it later and send it if something happened at the party , but he couldn't do it tonight. It was to rash, to impulsive and he was not that kind of person, except when Sansa was involved. How the hell had that vixen wormed her way onto his life so deeply. He had not felt protective of another person since his mother was alive. But here he was, trying to protect Sansa, even if it was from herself.

He downed the rest of his drink and turned off the computer. He walked over to his book shelf and pulled out a tattered copy of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. He hunkered down in his bed and started to read. He had to get to sleep soon and the booze was not working to take the edge off his anger and the book was not making him sleepy. He put the book on his nightstand and switched off the light. He had to get to sleep, it was late and there was nothing he could do tonight about his moral issue that had been tearing an ever growing whole in his heart.

It was there in the dark of his room, alone in his room, that he admitted to himself a truth he had been denying since he had met her. He liked Sansa as more then a friend. He liked her as a woman. And he was a man. A man who was pressed between a rock and a hard place. But he would was damn sure he would not be the one to break first.

Bran

He did not like theater anymore. He had memorized his lines and did his costume and makeup all properly. But when he got up on the stage he choked. He could not say his lines and they had completely gone out of his head when it was his turn to perform. He had just stood there under the stage lights and he felt like a fish opening and closing his mouth with no sound coming out.

He had stood there on that stage and felt like a complete fool. Renly had called him off the stage and told that he could try again at the end of the week. He had tried rationalizing what was going on with what his mind was doing to him. He had never been one to freeze before. He was not used to failing. He was passed and he was lost. This was a new feeling for him. Everything that involved school was so easy for him. He had failed, but he would not fail again.

So he went home that day and rehearsed and practiced until he was blue in the face. He was not going to choke the next time.

He got to school the next day and sat in the audience and watched six of his classmates perform. Meera did her performance and she looked amazing as the queen of the fairies. Bran sat there and watched how easy it was for her to stand there in the spotlight and become someone different. He tried to watch what she was doing, how she lost herself in the acting. But there was nothing that he saw that she did that was different from what he knew how to do, in theory. She was doing the same thing he did when he was alone in his room. Once she had finished Renly took to the stage.

"All you performers did excellent. I loved how you all threw yourselves into your characters. Especially Miss Reed. A superb performance, my dear girl. That will be our last performance of the day. The rest of you can go tomorrow. I know that there are ten minutes left in class, but we are done for the day. Go do whatever you want, as long as it is not illegal or breaks school rules." Renly said to the assembled student audience.

Bran walked over to where Renly once sitting and scoring the actors for the day from his notes.

"Renly I would like to go first tomorrow. If that is okay with you. I don't think that I can go last." Bran said.

"I am sorry Bran but we need to have the people go who have not already performed. You have to go last." Renly said still looking down at his notes.

Bran walked away without a word and went back to where his friends were sitting. He did not want to go last. He was known that he was probably just going to choke again by going last.

"Did you convince him to let you go first?" Jojen asked as he sat down next to him.

"No. I have to go last. It is not something that I want to do. But I have to go last because I choked yesterday." He ran his hand over his face.

"That sucks man. That is not something that I would want to do. I am glad that I have gotten my performance all done with. I was meaning to ask you, was that a tear in your eye while I gave my speech? I think that I was convincing in trying to raise the hearts of the troops before they marched into battle." Jojen joked.

"No. But you were very good. I believed that you were the king." Bran said with a smile. His friend had a great sense of humor, but it was a little dry and slightly hard to follow.

"Who knows, I might be a king." Jojen laughed.

Bran opened his history book and started reading the chapter that they were going to be going over that day in class. He wanted to stop talking to Jojen. It was all review for him. It was early world history and Bran had read up on it months ago. He thought that Kings Landing was going to challenge him. So far the only class that he had that did to him was theater.

The bell rang and they started to file out of class. He passed Sansa in the hall on Joffery's arm with Sandor behind them. He was thinking about Sansa and how she looked so sad with Joffery, then all of a sudden he saw her in his head.

_She was standing by a fire crying and there were people walking by her ignoring her as she sobbed. A shadow was behind her looming over her, but not in a evil way. Joffery walked over to her and pulled her to him savagely wiping the tears from her face. It looked like they were arguing, but he heard no words. The shadow surrounding Sansa turned into an angry hell hound trying to get between his sister and Joffery. The shadow showed his teeth and lunged at Joffery._

Then Bran was back in the halls of the school. He was dizzy and felt like he was going to be sick. Meera and Jojen were on either side of him holding his arms and looking concerned.

"Bran are you okay?" Meera asked, her face concerned.

"I think that you telling me how you "see" things is starting to get to me." Bran said. He weeded and hunched over on himself.

"What did you see Bran? What is going to happen?" Jojen demanded.

"I saw my sister Sansa. I saw her crying." Brans voice was shaken.

"Is that all? Bran you can tell us. It might be important." Meera said.

"She was crying and Joffery was there. There was a shadow around her, but it tried to get between her and Joffery. It turned into a hell hound. It tried to protect her. They were arguing, but I couldn't hear what they were saying." Bran said.

"Do you think that will come true?" Meera asked her brother.

"Well his sister is dating Joffery. Odds are that she is in for heartache." Jojen said.

"I need to get more sleep or eat something. I must be going crazy." Bran muttered to himself as the Reeds lead him to their next class.

"What about the hell hound?" Meera asked.

"Think about it. Who is Jofferys right hand man? The Hound, Sandor Clegane. It couldn't be clearer." Jojen said.

"You cannot be serious. This is not real. It was a hallucination; that is all. Sleep denervation. Something like that." Bran shot back. He could not believe that everything Jojen had said to him, about seeing the future, was true.

"You can be in denial all you want Bran, but I think that we both know that you had a vision." Jojen said.

A heavy silence hung in the air between them. Bran wanted to deny everything that his fried had said was true. But his gut was telling him what he saw was real. It was something that would come to pass. For once Bran decided to trust his gut over his brain.

"So say I believe you. What do we do now? I do not want my sister to get hurt." Bran said.

"All that we can do is watch. We can't intervene. If we do we could do more damage than good." Bran opened his mouth to argue, but Jojen held up his hand. "I know what you are going to say Bran. You want to protect your sister. But think. What if we intervened and we did more harm than good. There is always a reason to the visions. They connect to a much larger picture. Some things have to just play out."

"But she is my sister. If you had the chance to protect Meera from harm wouldn't you?" Bran asked. H looked at Meera to gage her reaction to him using her that way.

"If I knew that Meera must suffer a minor heartbreak to prevent a larger one in the end I would not do anything. She is strong Bran. Sansa is strong. You must believe she will take care of herself."

Myrcella

Myrcella had never been happier then she had in the last four days. She and Aegon were happy with each other. She had almost forgotten her infatuation with Gendry. He had been nothing. Aegon was the true one for her. They laughed a lot and he made her feel safe. Laughter and safety was something that had end lacking in her life. Marcella felt free to talk about her life with her family for the first time without fear of violence or denial. She told him the truth about her brother. How he would hit her when he couldn't find someone else to victimize. How he verbally abused her and Tommen in front of their mother, but she did nothing to protect them from his evil. When she had told Aegon about what her brother did to her, what her mother refused to do, he said that he was going to kill the little bastard for hurting her, and make her mother pay for not protecting her children the way a mother should.

She knew the part of her mother turning a blind eye on her behalf had caused him the most anger. He had been orphaned as a small child and so he took the ideas of true family, a mother and father seriously. It pained her to see hurt for her in his eyes, because he knew he was truly powerless to do anything about any of it. And part of her was very worried that he would really do what he said he was going to do to Joffery. Given the chance he would hurt her brother. The other part of her was happy that he was willing to stand up to Joffery for her.

She was not able to see much of him after school due to her dance classes and his band rehearsals. But they talked all the time. And at school they were with each other as much as they could be. They walked with each other between classes, they had lunch with other, and they spent half an hour before her dance classes together. He even drove her to dance classes on his bike. She had to admit that part of the reason that she had started to like him was that bike of his.

But that was not the only reason she liked him. He was also very, very good looking. She loved to just watch him walk. He was tall, near six foot four and lean. He was slender but had muscles. He over like a dancer, but he didn't dance. He was mike a great cat. That is the better analogy for Aegon. He was smooth, but muscular. There was a strength to him as well. She had seen him haul the equipment around, and that stuff could be heavy. Then there was his hair. He kept it short on the sides but long on top. If he wanted to he could make it into a Mohawk if he wanted. It was also white blond. It was probably the reason he had never been on her radar. But then she had touched his hair. It was soft, as soft as silk. After you get past the hair, working down, to his face, that's where the beauty of him truly was. He has lips that were kissable perfect. They were neither red nor pink, but a color in between that were so inviting. Going up from the lips there were his hypnotic lavender steel colored eyes. They looked, to Myrcella, like he had seen things no person should have to see. Fierceness and wisdom fought for dominance. But on top of all that there was his smile. It started on his lips and finished in his eyes. It was truly magical. But Aegon said the same thing about her smile.

She had not told her parents about him yet, but she had told her uncle Renly. There was no way around that. He had seen her holding hands with Aegon in the hall on Tuesday. She had waited for the rest of the week to hear from her uncle. He had pulled her out of her math class on Thursday to have a 'friendly little chat' with her. She knew it was going to be a talk about Aegon but she had no trepidation that she felt about telling her parents with Aegon whole she walked down the halls to reach her uncles office.

She had walked to his closet of an office off the theater and sat down in the one chair smashed in it. She smiled at him and be beamed over at her. There was a wicked glint in his eye that he got right before he sprung something on her. She was one step ahead this time though. She knew what he wanted to know about and he was going to get the whole truth.

"So are you going to tell me that you have a boyfriend or am I going to pretend that you do not have one and I just imagined that I saw you holding some boys hand going down the halls?" He asked her right off. He did the thing she thought he would do, give her a choice. Did she, or didn't she?

"I guess I do have a boyfriend." She smiled at Renly and he tried to stand to hug her, but the room was to small he couldn't. Myrcella laughed out loud at her uncles antics. "Do you pull Joffery out of class every time he gets a new girlfriend?" She wanted to know.

"No I don't, but I don't care about him like I do you. You are my niece, almost like a little sister to me. I love you the most. For example, who is the only one in the family that showed up at your first dance recital?" He asked.

"It was you. You gave me the biggest bouquet of roses I have ever seen! I was five year old that thing was bigger than me. But I loved it all the same." She smiled and looked him in the eye. There was love there, but he was acting mote like a father, not an uncle. So she asked him why. "Why the sudden interest in my love life if you don't mind me asking?"

"Because it went from nonexistent to active in a short period of time. I just want to make sure you are safe and with a good guy." Renly said.

She just sat there and smiled at her uncle and did not know what to say. He was more like a father to her than her real father. Renly and Tyrion were always the ones who took a real intrest in her life. Tyrion used to help her with her home work and Renly would cheer her up and take her shopping when things got to bad at home. Her uncles were the best, she loved them more then anyone. She had tears glistening in her eyes at how much she saw her uncle caring for her. Then he got to the root of the issue.

"Has he tried anything?" He asked. Renly was dead serious. He had been the one who had given her 'the talk' when she came of age. And Renly had always stressed to never be with a man who took things faster that she wanted. He was checking on her now. So she told the truth.

"We hold hands, talk a lot, and I go on rides with him on his bike sometimes." She said.

"Well that is good." He looked relieved. "I am glad that you found someone. How much have you told him about what happens at your house?"

This was another worry of her uncles. They hated how the parents treated each other and their children. They couldn't protect them all the time, but they tried. They felt the worst about what Joffery did. That they really couldn't protect Myrcella or Tommen from.

"I haven't told him about my parents, not really. I told him mother doesn't care about anyone but Joff. Everyone knows that. But I have told him about Joffery. About the hitting and the yelling. The threats and the rest. He said he wanted to smash his face in." She let her face go blank. She didn't want him to know how much Aegon's threat to smash up her brother had pleased her. She was worried about what he would say about her telling a relative stranger dark family secrets.

"That worm needs a good thrashing. You should let Aegon do it. He has some pretty strong looking friends too. I am sure that they can help take him." Renly joked.

Myrcella and Renly giggled together for a moment.

"Okay. I just want you to be safe and know that I am here for you if you need anything. Now get back to class. I shouldn't have pulled you out in the first place." Renly said.

At lunch they sat eating in the cafeteria and the group was laughing at what Arya was telling them about what happened in the shop and the sanding that they were doing on the car.

"I was sanding the bottom part of the driver's side of the door and there was Gendry with the electric sander on the hood of the car. He was sanding away when Thoros came walking over and tapped him on the shoulder. Let me tell you if the car wasn't getting all the paint taken off and smoothed out it would need it to be now. And I never would have guessed that this big strong manly guy could scream like a little girl." Arya laughed and the rest of the table did as well.

Myrcella watched as Gendry gave Arya a playful shove and she shoved him back. Arya had called and told her that she was going to dinner with Gendry on Friday and to an artsy thing with Jaqen the next day. She didn't know what Gendry was going to do when he found out that Arya was going on a date with another guy the next day, but that was her business.

She pushed that thought aside and they joked more about normal teenage things. They joked about bad movies, stupid pop stars and the newest fashion trend. Hot Pie was mocking some new cooking show and everything was good. Myrcella was holding Aegons hand and smiling at him when Joffery came over to their table. He sneered at the assembled table and then his eyes hit on Myrcella and her brother get the look on his face that means something bad is going to happen. She scoots closer to Aegon. Joffery noticed and he was like a snake about to go into for the kill.

"So this is the little shit that is dating my sister. And you did think that you could just fuck her without asking me first?" Joffery demanded, leaning down, getting in Aegon's face.

"No it is none of your business that she has a boyfriend. And we are not fucking. You should leave her alone. There are people here and they are watching. Don't do this. Walk away Joffery." Aegon said trying to keep his voice even. Myrcella was gripping his hand and was trying not to crush it.

"You should not talk like that to me, boy. Bad things will happen to you if you keep talking to me like that. Do you know who I am? I could have you disappear." Joffery threatened.

"There is nothing that you could do to me. I know how to take care of myself and I fight back, not like your usual victims." Aegon spat at him.

Joffery looked at Myrcella and she knew that he was going to use her as a punching bag when they get home from school. There was a rage in his eyes she had never seen before.

"What ever this little bitch here said is a pack of lies. She is nothing but a dirty liar." Joffery spat, spewing venom from his mouth.

"If you touch her it will be the last thing that you do" Aegon threatened reading Jofferys mind.

Myrcellas heart was pounding and she was starting to sweat. This was not going to end up good.

"She is my sister and I can do what I want. And what I want is for you to stay the hell away from my sister, you filthy piece of trash." Joffery said getting more into Aegons face with every word.

"You need to back the fuck away before I demolish that face of yours. I am not kidding." Each word was clipped and forced. "Because unlike you, I learned to fight like a real man. Not by beating up girls and little kids or having other people fight for me." Aegon seethed.

Joffery snapped back away from the words Aegon said and stood at with his face turning red AMD a vein bulging in his head. Myrcella knew that her brother was ready to strike. It all happened so fast. Her brothers hand flew back and he went to slap Aegon, because that's all he knew. Aegon released Myrcellas hand and stood up, hand in a fist and swung his body into a punch. He landed the punch square on Joffery's nose. There was a crunching sound and blood started gushing from his nose.

"Hound get him. Beat the shit out of that little dick" Joffery screeched. He had his hand holding his nose, trying to stop the bleeding and the nasally voice Joffery had was even more pronounced. Sandor stood at his table, shielding Sansa from the view. He shook his head. He would not come to aide Joffery. So he tried to make another smack at Aegon.

Then the teachers were suddenly between Joffery and Aegon. Joffery screamed that Aegon started it all. That he was the innocent victim there. Everyone at Myrcellas table yelled that this was a lie. Joffery was the one that started it. Since no one could be understood everyone was taken out of the cafeteria to be questioned. She walked with Aegon tears streaming down her face out of the cafeteria down the halls to an empty class room to try to get the true story.

Renly came running over to her as she was being escorted out of the room. He immediately put his arms around his niece. Just because she was safe in her uncles arms she wouldn't cry. He looked at Aegon over the top of her head and smiled.

"Good job kid. I hoped that you messed up that pretty face of his." Renly said giving Aegon a squeeze on the arm.

"Is he going to get in trouble? It was not his fault. He was protecting me, and Joffery was going to hit one of us. Honest uncle Renly. He was going to do something to hurt us." Myrcella cried. "We have witnesses."

"So does he Myrcella. And I bet that he and his friends are going to say that I hit him just for the hell of it. It is okay sweetheart. Everything will be okay." Aegon said. She went from her uncle to her boyfriend. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. He was her rock, her happy place. With him things were bright. Right?

Myrcella knew that it was not going to be okay. Nothing was. Joffery just had to mess with her happiness and destroy it. That was what he did. He took what you liked most and poisoned it.

"No matter what happens, we do this together." She said to his chest.

"No matter what." He kissed the top of her head. Then they walked hand in hand together to face the music. It felt like it was going to be a sick song and she knew it would be a sick dance to come.


	13. Blackwater Bay

**A\N I really changed this one from the original. Plus I got a beta to go over things. So I hope you like the improvements. Enjoy!**

Myrcella

Her life at home since the fight had been beyond miserable. Joffrey terrorized her waking hours when they were at home at the same time. He didn't touch her, but he did verbally abuse her. He called her every awful thing in the world. He even did this with their mother sitting right next to her at breakfast the morning after the fight. Cersei was probably punishing her for her involvement in the situation.

When her parents were told about the incident at the school her mother had gone ballistic. She was afraid that she was going to scratch the principles eyes out when he told her that there were witnesses stating that Joffrey was going to strike Aegon or Myrcella, and that Aegon hit him in self-defense. The worst was when Cersei had been told that Joffrey was suspended until Monday – she looked like she would kill someone. Her once lovely face went furiously red with and her hands were clenched in fists. She was shaking with rage.

She turned and looked at Myrcella and snapped, "What the hell have you done?"

Myrcella felt as if her mother had slapped her with those six words. Tears had streamed down her face and she turned back to her uncle.

"For God's sake, Cersei. She has done nothing wrong. Lay off the poor girl and take a look at that son of yours. He is the one who called _your_ daughter a whore. _He_ is the one who started everything. And you go and ask _her_ what she has done? What kind of a mother are you?" Renly said, his voice seething with barely contained rage.

"If she had just kept her legs shut none of this would have happened! Her brother would have not felt the need to protect her." Cersei snapped.

"Fuck that, you blind bitch. Myrcella is a good kid. It's that son, that parasitic psychopath son who is to blame. Everyone in this room here knows it – even you do! You're just too stupid to admit it! Pull your head out of your ass and be the mother your daughter needs." Renly snapped, getting into Cersei's face. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"That is enough! You all shut your bloody mouths. This is not the time or the place to have this talk. We'll deal with this when we get home. I _will_ get to the bottom of this and the punishments for Joffrey do not start just at being suspended!" Robert had finally spoken up. He continued to glare at his wife. "Let's go everyone. I am sure that this matter is as good as settled?" Robert asked the principle.

"Yes, Mr. Baratheon. The other boy has been sent to detention for the remainder of the week." The principle said.

"Why does that boy get detention while my son, who was the _victim_, gets suspended?" Cersei demanded.

The principle dabbed his sweaty brow with a crumpled handkerchief.

"Aegon was not the aggressor of the incident, and by all accounts he was protecting your daughter." The principle said, shifting from one foot to the other as Cersei towered above him.

"I do not understand the way this school allows its shining star students to be bullied and abused by delinquents. It is unacceptable. I'll be taking this matter to the school board. You will definitely be hearing more from me sir. My son is innocent. I'll go get Joffrey from the nurse." Cersei swept out of the office like a bat out of hell.

"Renly bring Myrcella. The cars are waiting outside." Robert sighed.

She was numb as her uncle walked her to the car. Robert stayed behind and talked to the principle. Out in the car her uncle sat beside her. Renly had his arm around her and was telling her that everything would be alright. Her father came into the car with three files under his arm. She saw that Joffrey's name was on the thickest file. Myrcella suspected it was all the bad things he had done. She now figured the other two were hers and Aegon's. Cersei and Joffrey came out of the school last. They piled into the car and first thing out of her brothers mouth was a threat.

"If I ever see you with that guy again, I will see that you both will suffer." Joffrey held a bloody cloth still pressed to his face.

"Enough of that, boy! We will talk more once we get home, and if I hear another word like that out of your mouth aimed at your sister I will finish what that boy started. Now everyone shut the fuck up until we get to the Keep." Robert roared into the car. His son and wife slinked back into their seats. Myrcella slid closer to her uncle and smiled about Joff getting told off.

When they got home her mother tried to get Myrcella to admit that she was the one who started the whole fight and that Joffrey had done nothing wrong. When she had said that her brother was the one who started it, even with him sitting right there glaring at her, she still held her ground. Then her mother changed tactics. Her mother demanded she break up with Aegon. She had sat there and let her mother yell and rage at her for a whole hour before Robert finally put a stop to his wife's ravings.

"Leave the poor girl alone. I believe what they said. I believe that Joffrey did what they said he did. I want him grounded. He was going to hurt your daughter in public. I suspect that it would not be the first time the little shit had hit her, it was probably just the first time that he had to face someone who fought back. He is not going to play in this week's game, watch it or go to any parties after it." He looked at his son. Joffrey's face was purple with rage.

Myrcella was amazed that her father was sticking up for her. He'd never done that for her before and she was immensely thankful for him now. This was the second time in one day. Maybe he wasn't as blind as they all thought.

"And she does not have to break things off with that Aegon boy. So there will be nothing more on the matter, woman." Robert walked out of the living room where the conversation had been taking place.

Myrcella just sat there as the rest of her family exited the room. She could not believe that she was being supported by her father. Her head swam and she finally had her courage to look at her phone. Twelve missed calls. One from Hot Pie, nine from Arya and two from Aegon. There were text messages from almost everyone she knew. She checked to make sure that the coast was clear and called Aegon.

"Myrcella, are you okay?" Aegon sounded so worried and her heart leapt. She had not seen him since she had been dragged away to talk to the principle.

"I'm fine. My mother went a little crazy, but she's always like that when it comes to Joffrey. But my dad stood up for us, for me. We don't have to break it off." Myrcella said.

"Well it's always good that we don't have to break up! Now do you still want to go to Blackwater with me and watch the band or not? If not, I totally get it. But I'd be honored for you to go with me."

She did not understand why, but that one simple question made her break down in tears. In the end she said she would go. She was happy as long as she was with Aegon. But he couldn't be with her all the time. She needed him at home. But she was content for being with him at school and after.

Friday found her at Hot Pie's house watching the guys load everything into the van. Beric was ordering everyone around. He was telling them where to put the speakers, the drums, the guitar. He was like a little dog hyped up on sugar. Thoros had told Aegon and Myrcella that Arya and Gendry would be meeting them at the Bay. They all piled into the vehicles. Myrcella rode on the bike with her boyfriend and felt like freedom. It was an hour from Kings Landing and she enjoyed every moment of it. They got there too soon for her liking.

"Alright boys, they have the stage already up and sound wired for us, but I don't completely trust these asses to have things right. We have an hour till the game is done to perfect things. Now get this right: we are one man down for setup. You _all _have to work double time. Aegon, I am talking to you! You do not get to slack off just cause your girlfriend is here." Beric was warming up on one of his many pre show rants. Myrcella knew the signs so she tried to cut him off before he got his wind behind him.

"Beric, what can I do to help?" She popped up.

He stumbled at her soft voice. He clearly was not used to being interrupted. He blinked and looked at her for the first time all night.

"You? Well, um, yes. You could help. Do you know anything about computers? If you do, would you be able to sync up our songs to some lights? The set list is there on the dash of the van." He still looked confused.

"I can do that." She beamed at Aegon and he smiled at her. She was trying to be helpful, thus winning over Beric.

She went over, got the list and went to work on the computer. She knew all the songs but one. She went over and asked Aegon what was with the new song. All he said was that it was sort of a surprise. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to work. She set up the lights to the set list and then went to find Aegon.

"Alright, I have finished the lights to the songs. If they mess up, I take full responsibility for it with Beric. Now, are we still going for that long drive in the country tomorrow?" She asked.

"Would you settle for a drive along the coast?" He brushed the hair from her face and smiled at her.

"I like the sound of that." She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. It was the first time they had kissed on the lips and she was happy to find that he had soft lips and was a good kisser.

"Okay, none of that now. We have a show to do. Stop sucking face and get this crap set up. We have twenty minutes till the game is done and music starts playing from these speakers." Beric barked.

"It's just a bit of pre-show kisses for good luck. Give the kids a break." Thoros called from his keyboard.

"But if I do let them have fun they get distracted and play like shit." He snapped.

"Calm down there buddy, we're going to be great!" Thoros shouted again from his keyboard.

"I am not worried about you, Hot Pie and myself – it's the idiot over there and the one who is on his way here that I am worried about. Women mess with the music. Everyone knows that." Beric snapped.

"Cool your jets man. Nothing's going to happen to mess with our jam." Hot Pie called from his drum set.

"Fine, but we start sound check in five minutes, with or without Gendry. Stop messing around and do it." The lead singer shouted to his band.

"Beric is a slave driver – I don't see anything else that needs to be done." Myrcella said to Aegon.

"He takes his 'craft' very seriously. Did I tell you that he stole a poem from Arya from our poetry class? He put it to some music and we are going to be playing it tonight." Aegon said.

"So about this secret song, where did it come from?" She asked.

"To be honest it is a piece of Arya's from our Creative Writing class. He sort of stole it from Arya and set it to music without her knowing." Aegon looked down at his shoes.

"She is going to kill someone when she hears it. He knows that right?" She asked.

"He is hoping she won't notice." Aegon chuckled.

"Then I will definitely be staying around to watch the show." Myrcella smiled at him.

They kissed one last time before they were caught and had to go back to work.

Arya

When she had told her father about her 'date' with Gendry for Friday he only seemed amused. Arya had pictured him demanding to know everything there was to know about the boy who dared to ask his daughter out, but he just smiled and said that it was all fine with him. She suspected that Jon had already called him and told him that she had a 'date'. She also suspected that Jon had told her father pretty much everything she had said to Jon about Gendry. She hoped that Jon liked what he heard about Gendry and talked him up. But when she told him about going to the art opening with Jaqen he had been completely unprepared for that. She guessed that Jon had not mentioned that part. When he asked her if she was dating two boys at once she quickly said she was neither of their girlfriend, just their friend.

"Then why are you going on a date with them both?" Her father looked very confused.

"Jon told me to go on a date with them, as friends. Then I spend time with them, get to know them and then pick the one who I want to be in a relationship with."

Her father walked away from her then. He was muttering under his breath. Some words she caught. Others she didn't. So it wounded like he said, "Dumb advice. Jon. Grey hair. Daughters. Need a drink." Arya shook her head watching him leave her alone to get dressed for the night.

At six thirty, Arya went down the stairs to wait for Gendry. She stood in the family room and waited. She was full of nervous energy and was pacing. She didn't understand why she was so amped up. She never usually let her nerves get the better of her. She should not have said yes to going out with Gendry. Or Jaqen either. She had butterflies in her stomach tonight. If she got them tomorrow she would swear off dating, forever. She didn't like this feeling of uncertainty.

"Arya what are you wearing?" Ned asked peering into the room on his way to his study across the hall.

Arya looked down at her outfit. She had done what Sansa had told her to do to the letter. The outfit, hair and makeup were all Sansa's idea. Her sister said it was the best outfit for her to wear on a not-date, so she wore it. She was in a long sleeved purple V-neck sweater, a black denim skirt, grey tights and calf high boots. She had a cropped black leather jacket slung over the chair with her purse. Her hair was down and curling around her face. She had a black headband on to keep her hair in place. She has makeup on as well, even eyeliner and lip stick. She had done everything Sansa had suggested. Arya hoped she had not messed up the make-up, or what they had planned for the outfit. She thought she looked nice.

"What do you mean dad? I'm wearing clothes. Is there something wrong with what I'm in?" She asked anxiously. For some reason she wanted his approval.

"Um, no. I just never figured that you would dress up to go out to dinner with a friend." He chuckled as he walked into his office. That's all she got from him. She was now nervous about what she was wearing. She went back to her nervous pacing. Ten to seven there was a ping from her purse. She pounced on it and pulled the phone out. It was a text from Gendry. All it said was _Here. _She went and looked out the window. Gendry was getting out of the car and walking to the door. She raced to the door and opened it before he had a chance to knock.

He stood in the halo of the porch light. His hair was combed and he had washed the oil out from his fingernails. He had a blue sweater on that really set off his eyes matched with a charcoal colored linen jacket and jeans. He had on the same scruffy boots he always wore and she smiled. She loved the boots. They were so him.

"Hey." He said with a nervous smile on his face. His hands were in his pockets and he was rocking back and forward on his feet.

"Hi" She said back. For some reason she was shy. She had just seen him at school earlier that day. Everything had been normal that day. Why did it feel so weird now? "Come on in. I need to get my bag and jacket. Oh and my dad does want to meet you."

"But at lunch today you said that you were joking." He stopped following her into the house.

"Don't worry Gendry. I do not intend to hurt you. I just want to know who is brave enough to take out my Little Wolf." Ned said from the doorway of his office. "I am Eddard Stark. Nice to meet you." He walked halfway to where the two teenagers were standing.

Gendry cleared his throat and walked the rest of the way to Ned to shake his hand. Arya watched how they squeezed hands but not too tightly.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark." Gendry said. He was nervous, but Arya was pleased to see that he held her father's gaze steady.

"Well Dad you have meet him and seen how _brave_ he is, so can we go now?" Arya warily asked. She walked back in to the family room and could hear Gendry and her dad talking.

"So I hear you are helping her fix up Jon's present?" Ned was asking.

"Yeah, we are working it together. I don't have much else to do now that I am all done with my car. So I get to work on a car and show Arya the right way to fix them." Gendry said laughing.

"I won't tell her brothers that you said that. If they ever heard you say that they would pounce on you and wipe the floor with you." Ned said laughing right along with Gendry.

"I don't want that to happen. If they are anything like Arya I am sure they would wipe the floor with me." They both laughed at that remark.

Arya was surprised to see how well her dad was getting along so well with Gendry. She saw how much her father liked him. Arya figured that Gendry reminded her of her older brothers, she knew that her father missed his sons more than he was letting on. She felt that given the chance, Ned would use Gendry as a surrogate son for the three that he left up North.

"Come by anytime Gendry. I am sure that Arya's younger brother Rickon would love to watch you work on a car like he did with his brothers back home." Ned smiled at Gendry and they shook hands again.

"I think I could do that, Mr. Stark." Gendry beamed at her father.

"Call me Ned. You have fun and remember you have to be home by one, Arya." He shouted at her as she walked out the door.

"I know dad. I love you." She said as she headed to the door.

"Love you too sweetheart," her father called as they shut the door behind him.

Arya walked beside him to his car in the driveway. They were close. She could feel him walking beside her. She felt this urge to reach out her hand and take his in her. What was she thinking? She never felt compelled to take a boys hand before. Thankfully that need passed as they were close to the car. She reached out for the car door and opened it before he had the chance to open the car door for her. She shot him a glance and all she saw was a smile on his face. Was he smiling because he knew she wouldn't let him open the door for her or because she beat him to it? She slid into the car and buckled before he got into his side. Gendry turned the car on and it roared to life. She loved the way the engine purred to life. They drove away from their house which she dubbed Winterfell 2.0. There was a strained silence in the car as they drove to the restaurant that Gendry had suggested. It was not a long drive and the place was tiny, but smelled heavenly of exotic spices and long lost secrets. The hostess seated them at a table in the furthest corner from both the door and the kitchen.

They took their seats across from each other. She didn't know what to do. She lifted her napkin off her plate, moved her water glass and kept her elbows off the table. Despite how much she railed against everything she had been taught as a girl she could remember some form of etiquette. She decided to pick up her menu. Nothing said distraction like reading a menu. She was not hiding behind a menu. No she was not.

"So this place is nice." She said to break the pressing silence.

"I love this place. The food's great and cheap. Your dad seems like a really cool guy. You are lucky. I don't know my dad. So it's pretty great to see a dad that wants to be with his kid." Gendry said as he placed his napkin on his lap. There was a cloud hanging over his face when he mentioned he didn't know his father. She had not known that. But then again she really didn't know much about him to begin with.

"My dad's the greatest." She said the only thing that she could think of. "I get along with him a lot better than I do with my mother. She's a bit of a snob. I have to say that just by looking at you she wouldn't like you much. You're much too scruffy for her. She's way more protective than my father. He at least gives a guy a chance to prove himself and doesn't just look at the outer package." Arya said looking at the menu. Her face blushed slightly when she said the word package. She had noticed how his bulged when she was in shop with him. The first time she notices she realized it was when she took her top off under her coveralls and left it slightly unzipped. Now that's how she always wore it in shop class.

"So you are saying that she wouldn't love me and my package at first sight? I am pretty impressive." He smiled at her and she nearly choked on her water.

"Maybe if you were gay. Otherwise 'love' is not the right word to use. Tolerate is more like it. She would tolerate you." Arya said distracted by the different food options. There were many different kinds of curry, Thai BBQ, veggie dishes she had never heard of and her favorite thing – Pad Thai. It all looked so good. She didn't know what to pick and for once didn't have to pretend to be distracted.

"Well, who said I wasn't gay?" Gendry's calm cool voice asked her from across the table.

Arya lowered the menu and looked over at Gendry. He sat across from her smiling, his hands folded on top of the menu. Arya honestly could not decide if he was kidding or telling the truth. His face was utterly blank. She thought back to the times they spent together and their kiss flashed vividly. A gay boy would not kiss a girl that way.

"No one. But if you are gay then why did you invite me out tonight? Why did you kiss me?" She tilted her head to the side and batted her eyelashes at him. She tried for innocent and confused.

He leaned closer to her across the table and dropped his voice to a whisper. She had to lean in just to hear him. She watched his mouth as he talked.

"I think we both know that I'm not gay. I can prove it to you if you want." It was his turn to bat his lashes. He licked his lips and she watched every move of his tongue. She wanted to lean in and press her mouth to his. Tangle her hands in his dark hair. She sat back feeling uncomfortable again. Arya gave a nervous laugh. He knew he was making her uncomfortable. Gendry sat back across from her and just smiled. He had won that round.

"Not right now, maybe later. You can prove it till you are blue in the face or other parts. Now let's change the subject. Tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. I want to know everything." She honestly said.

"Okay then. I will tell you about me if you return the favor." He stuck his hand out to shake hands on their deal. She grabbed his and they shook. They talked until the waitress took their order, they talked while they ate. They just talked and it was amazing.

Sansa

In the days since the fight she had felt free. Joffrey was suspended from school and she didn't feel the need to be perfect all the time. She really got to know people. She was fast becoming friends with Margery Tyrell, the captain of the cheer squad. Without Joffrey there, lunch time and the short moments between classes were less strained for everyone. She liked that Sandor was the one who walked her to class and they were able to have full conversations without interruption. She was able to let people she liked be noticed without some snide comment from Joffrey about how the collective group around him was nothing but boot lickers and wannabes. It was a perfect two days.

But Friday was the big game. She dressed in her cheer uniform and went out with the rest of the squad with a feeling of trepidation in her heart. How would the Knights play without their quarterback? She should not have worried. The football game was turning out better then everyone was expecting. Sansa had thought that the team would be playing badly without their quarterback, but they were playing better than they had with Joffrey. When he had been suspended, Sansa, as well as the rest of the student body, had felt that they were going to lose the playoffs. But she had forgotten one important thing – Joffrey was not the real leader of the team, Sandor was.

Even with the second string quarterback, they were kicking ass. They had scored nine touch downs and had not let the other team score at all. Sansa's voice was hoarse from all the yelling she had done. She was pumped that they had won. When the clock finally ran out of time and the other team had walked off their own field in defeat Sansa was on the field first to congratulate the players, with the rest of the cheer team following closely on her heels to congratulate their victorious team.

"They played so fucking good tonight." Margaery said jumping up and down with Sansa.

"They sure did. They didn't even need Joffrey." Sansa said.

"The team is not the only one that doesn't need him. How can you still be with him after what he did to Aegon and Myrcella?" Margaery asked.

Sansa decided to ignore her friend as she cheered for the football players. She'd had the same argument with Arya the night of the incident. She'd thought they really had made headway into being sisters, but her refusal to break things off with Joffrey had killed all the goodwill the sisters had begun to make with each other. Things had gone from good to bad with her sister in just a few seconds. Sansa did not want to think about it. She threw herself into cheering for the Knights victory.

Sandor was making his way through the crowd to get to the locker room. He didn't seem to notice the congratulations and pats on the back. He looked very distracted. Sansa went and stood right in his path so that he practically ran her over in his effort to leave the field.

"You played really great tonight." Sansa said after they righted themselves from their collision.

"Thanks. It was nothing when there wasn't any interference going on, on the field." He sounded distracted. "So are you going to the party at Blackwater still?"

"Yeah. Joffrey is going to be there and if I don't go he will get angry. He has been sensitive since the incident the other day. I don't want to make his bad mood worse by not showing up. And Arya said something about there being live music for a little while and I want to see who's playing." She said. They started to walk to the locker rooms to change.

"Do you know where it is?" He asked as they stood outside the doors to the locker rooms assigned to their gender.

"Margaery is going to be driving with me. She knows the way." She wanted to say something cool, but all words froze in her mouth.

"Okay, I guess I will see you there then." He turned and went to change.

She went into the locker room in a haze. She was pleased the team had won, but she was confused. Inside the girls locker room there was a celebratory air to the girls. They were all still pumped that their team had won and that they are still in the playoffs. If they win the next game they are the district champs then they go on to the state championship!

Sansa grabbed her gym bag and went into a stall to change. She had been told to stay in her uniform, but it was starting to get too cold to stay in the uniform when she was not cheering. She put on some jeans and a sweater and was tying up her shoes when she heard voices talking outside her stall.

"So are you still going to be meeting that QB from the other team at that party tonight?" A girl's voice asked.

"Yeah. I figure I could have some fun with the other team. I have already went and dallied with all the worthwhile guys on our team. This Baratheon guy can't be any worse than them. And it has been a while since I've gotten any. It's been a whole week, can you believe it?" This girl had a smoky voice.

Sansa just stood there in the stall frozen. Had she heard right? Was one of the girls out there talking about having sex with her boyfriend at the party tonight? She could not believe it! There was no way that Joffrey could do that to her, _or was there?_ She had heard about things that he had done to his past girlfriends, but everyone said that she was different. There had to be a mistake. She had just heard things.

She walked out of the stall and past the girls standing at the sinks talking. She didn't even stop to look at them. She just walked right out the locker room and waited by the door for Margaery to come out.

"Hey, Sansa. There you are. Are you feeling okay? You are as white as a sheet. I mean you're even whiter than normal." Margaery asked, concern for her friend coloring her voice.

"Yeah I am fine, just a little tired is all." She lied.

"Well then we better get going." Margaery took hold of Sansa's arm and took her out to where Sansa had parked her car. "Okay, so take the freeway out till you see the signs that say Blackwater Bay. I will tell you when to go from there."

Sansa drove her car the way Margery directed. Margaery talked on and on about noting important and tried get Sansa to talk too. Sansa gave it a halfhearted attempt to reply to her friend, but she couldn't get into it. She was not in the best of mood when they got to the turn off to where the party was taking place. Once she got to the place that the other cars were parked, she and Margaery got out and walked to the large blazing fire made up of drift wood. They waved to their friends and many people came rushing up to say hello to Sansa.

"Sansa did you hear? The band that is playing is Aegon's band! He's here with Myrcella. Your boyfriend will flip his lid! Joffrey is over by the keg. He hasn't seen them yet. What are you going to do?" A junior girl came rushing up breathless and asked her stupid question, obviously hoping to get some juicy gossip to spread around.

"Joffrey is his own person. He will do what he wants to do. I hope that he won't do anything too foolish tonight. I plan on enjoying the party, that's all." Sansa said curtly.

The younger girl walked off disappointed that Sansa had not given her more of a response. Sansa scanned the party and she indeed saw Myrcella with Aegon by the stage as they set up to play. Arya was there with Gendry. Her sister looked happy, like a cat that ate the canary. Sansa continued to scan the people around her and on the other side of the fire was the keg.

Joffrey was there just like the girl said. He had a red cup in his hand and he was drinking fast. He had a sloppy smile on his face and it seemed that he was joking with the jocks around him. She decided that she better go over to him and get this part of her evening over with.

"Hi, Joffrey. I thought you were grounded?" She went and stood in front of him. He savagely grabbed her and gave her a slobbery kiss and a grope on the bottom.

"They couldn't keep me home. My mother took care of my father. She got him pissed, so he went out. Then I just walked out the front door. Where were you? What have you been doing? I have been here for almost an hour, alone. Why were you not here as soon as I got here?" He demanded.

"I was at the game. Cheering, remember? I had to cheer." She said. Sansa wanted to put some distance between them; but he kept her pressed to him. He even had his hand in her back pocket.

"Oh yeah. I forgot there was game tonight. And I told you to stay in your uniform whenever you wore it for a game. You should do as you are told Sansa! Now get away from me for a little while. You've pissed me off, reminding me about the game. I just want to drink and not be distracted by you." He gave her another slobbery kiss and patted her ass again in a dismissal.

Sansa walked away and didn't look back. So much for a normal life. She had just gotten sucked into the Joffrey show. She just wanted to go home. But then the band started playing. There were really very good. So she found a car, Sandor's, sat on the hood and enjoyed the music. Sandor walked over to her with a Pepsi for her. She took it and drank. She smiled at him.

"They are pretty good." Sansa said when their first song was over.

"They're alright. I like how they mix the classic rock with modern stuff. I think they could make it, you know?" Sandor kept giving her little looks at her. They were so easy together.

She heard Joffrey laughing from the keg and she got angry. Sandor opened his mouth to speak, but the band started up again. Sansa was happy he couldn't talk. She would have ended up telling him about the girl she had overheard talking about doing it with Joffrey locker room after the game. But she was afraid to see his reaction. She knew Joffrey bragged to Sandor about very thing. If what those girls were talking about was going to happen, she was not sure she wanted to know. So for the time being she would sit and enjoy the music.

Gendry

He had really enjoyed his date with Arya. They ate good food, had a great conversation full of innuendos, but the thing that he could not get out of his head was the part about him proving to her he was not gay. Gendry tried to forget the tit for tat deal he had made with Arya. She was too interested about his life. The talk had still been amazing, but more personal then he would have dreamed of. He found out more about her then he had dreamed possible in one night. By the end of the evening he had just the idea of how to prove he wasn't gay to her. The only thing he could think of was to stick his tongue down her throat and grind her hard against a tree.

They had finished their meal and Gendry was completely full. He loved the Thai BBQ chicken that they served. Arya'd had Pad Thai and they bad both eaten everything off their plates. He paid the check and they started to head to the party. They made their way to the car and were buckled in. They pulled onto the road. They rode happily while Arya played on his IPod. She made fun of some of his music until finally settling on Mumford and Sons. They sang and rocked out until they were half a mile from the party. Then Arya had hit him with a mac truck of some news. They were in his car and were both bitching about how cold it was in there. He was unprepared for the news.

"I am going to a gallery opening tomorrow with Jaqen." Arya said in an offhand-ish way.

"Oh? Like on a date or a project for your art class?" Gendry tried to make his voice sound casual.

"We are just going as friends." She said quickly.

"Oh, well have a good time then. But since you are out with me tonight, let's not talk about tomorrow." Gendry tried to sound positive.

"I can do that." She said with that smile that could make him weak in the knees.

He tried to forget that tomorrow she would be with that weird man. That he would be graced with her smiles and Gendry knew each word Jaqen said would be dripped in honey. That the creep had said he would have her in the end, no matter what. Gendry wanted to tell her not to go out with Jaqen tomorrow, that there was something not right with him. But he knew he had to let her decide what needed to know. But he would not let her go without a fight. Je would be there, always. To protect her from the shadows he had seen in the other man's eyes. He tried to play it cool and changed the subject.

"I want to let you know that we will be doing some new songs here tonight. I hope that you like them. There is one that I think that you really will love." Gendry told him trying to steer the conversation away from Jaqen.

"Really? Beric finished his new songs?" She asked.

"Yeah. They are very good." He said with a smile tugging at his lips. She had no idea that one of the new songs was one that Beric had stolen from her.

They got to the party and went to where the stage was all set up. Myrcella and Aegon were there already as were the rest of the guys. He hoped that there wouldn't be a fight breaking out between Aegon and Joffrey again. He suspected that Joffrey would not retaliate personally, but would have one of his lackeys do the hurting. It had taken everything in him, and Arya's hand on his leg, from jumping up when that little worm's hand reared back to strike Myrcella. He had always thought of her as a sister. If he ever had one he would protect her, not attack her like Joffrey did.

"You're late!" Beric yelled as soon as they got in Beric's line of sight.

"We were at dinner Beric. You knew that I was going to be a little late. Keep your shirt on." Gendry hollered.

Gendry went to setting his equipment set up. Arya assisted him in his set up. They had a great time. He kept finding ways to touch her that he never had a chance to in school. He showed her how to get the amps put up right, where the cords to go where. She did not pull away from his touches so he took confidence in each one. By the time Beric snapped at them all again Gendry had decided that he was going to make his move on Arya. He was going to make her forget Jaqen. Not by being deceitful, but by being kind and seductive. Music was his weapon. He would woo her with his playing and his kiss.

Beric kicked the girls off the stage and he told them all that it was time to start. He signaled the band to start playing and play they did. They were hour into the set when Beric said that they were going to play something new. Gendry glanced sideways and looked at Arya. She was in the sidelines of the stage. He played the opening cords of the song, Thoros started to play his keyboard, Hot Pie started on the drums and Aegon strummed his base. Arya was swaying and slightly dancing with Myrcella. Then Beric opened his mouth and started to sing. Arya's eyes lit with recognition. She recognized the words and was angry. He could tell from the stage she was pissed.

Gendry watched as Myrcella had to restrain Arya from barreling on stage and strangling Beric. Gendry could only laugh and hope that Beric got away from Arya as fast as he could before she got her hands on him. They played the song to the end. At the end of the song Beric said that they were going to take a small break and that they would be right back. The people at the party were going crazy and wanted more of what they had to play.

Arya came strolling on stage with an evil gleam in her eye and walked right up to Beric. He did not know her well enough to know that he was going to get punched, hard, right in the stomach. That's just what she did. She held out her right hand to the singer but her left hand was balled into a fist. She let it fly to his gut. The rest of them just laughed as well as the people who were looking at the stage. After the punch in the gut Beric stood doubled over and Arya walked back to the wings of the stage.

Gendry went and put his arm around the singer and helped him stand.

"You should have known that she would react that way. Just be happy that she went for the gut not the throat." He tried to comfort his winded friend.

"Shut up Gendry." Beric crooked.

Gendry went over to Arya and they just smiled at each other.

"I tried to tell you, you know. In the car." Gendry smiled at her.

"No you didn't. If you really wanted to warn me you would have just said it." Arya huffed.

"I could have, but where is the fun in that?" Gendry raised his brow at her and walked away.

Bran

Bran felt bad for deceiving his parents, but as Theon said there was no other time to be young as when you are young. He had told his parents that he was going to stay over at Jojen's house, which he was. But he had not told them that he would be going to the party that the girls were going to be at. He knew that they figured that he was too young and that they would not allow him to go. So he deceived them and went out with his friend.

Bran did not want his sisters to know that he was there, so he decided to borrow something from Jojen and put on a hat. He would use his skills as a fledgling actor to hide himself.

Meera almost peed herself as she laughed when she saw him. He looked like he did when he was in his brother's clothes. They were all too big for him. When he put the hat on his head he was laughed at to no end.

"If you're finished laughing can we get going? It's getting late and I know that they must already be there by now." Bran said.

"Keep your pants on. I mean it, do you have a belt or something." Meera said.

"Jojen didn't give me one." Bran huffed.

"Well I'll go get you one." Meera said.

"I didn't think that you needed one." Jojen said.

Meera returned and handed a slim black belt to Bran. He eyed it with distaste but threaded it into his pants.

"Can we go now? I want to make sure my sister is okay." Bran started to walk away from the two Reeds.

The Reeds hurried after Bran to the car and they piled in. It took them forty-five minutes to get to where the party was being held. They parked the car and got out. They kept to the fringes of the party and Bran was able to see Sansa. She was talking to Margaery. She looked a little upset but was pretending that she was fine. Sandor was not too far away from her.

"There she is. She is not crying yet." Jojen said. "We got here in time. And there is the Hound. Bran, tell me again, was Sandor menacing or protecting Sansa?"

"I don't know. She was by the fire crying then Joffrey was there then the shadow sort of became a hound. I don't know what that means." Bran said.

He heard the band, the singer said that they were going to play something new and then they started to play. They had gotten better since the last time he had heard them play. He saw Arya with Myrcella standing off to the side of the stage. They both were watching the band with looks of glee and delight on their faces. Then once the song ended her sister sucker punched the singer. The crowd loved it. But Bran knew it was just like Arya to sack a singer. He couldn't take this. Arya was fine for tonight. It was Sansa he was here to watch.

"We need to find Joffrey." Bran said.

They spread out and went in search for him. Bran walked around the fire in a wide circle and came back to the place that they had started and waited for the others to come back too. Meera was the first one to return.

"He was not over by the keg, or the trees. He was not by his car either." Meera said.

"Jojen has not come back yet. Let's just keep an eye on my sister and see if she goes somewhere." Bran said.

Jojen came back looking angry and slightly sick.

"Well I found him, but I wish that I hadn't. I saw a lot more of him then I ever wanted." Jojen looked half sick.

"What was he doing? Taking a pee by the lake?" Meera asked.

"Not peeing, screwing." Jojen said.

"We better not let Sansa walk in on that. That would be the reason for her crying in your vision" Meera said turning to look at Bran. "Are you sure that you don't want her to know that you are here?"

"Yes. She can't know that we are here." Bran insisted.

Bran looked over to where he had last seen his sister, but she was no longer there.

Sandor

He had watched Joffrey most of the night. It seemed to him that he had forgotten that he was going to have sex with some tramp that he met online. He was slightly relaxed most of the night. He was happy about the win and about the fact that he didn't have to hear any bitching and crying from Joffrey during the game. He was thankful that he had not been there in the stands.

He noticed that Sansa would go find Joffrey every half an hour or so and stay with him for fifteen minutes at a time. They needed the distance and she needed to see what a fool that he really was.

He had decided that he would go along with Joffrey's plan to keep her away from him while he was with the other girl, not for him, but so she didn't get hurt. It was the only thing that he could do.

When the band took a break and Sandor saw the younger Stark girl punch the singer and walk away with a satisfied smile on her face. He noticed that Joffrey had walked off to the lake. Sandor knew that he was going to meet the girl. Sandor looked around to see where Sansa was. He saw her by the fire and decided to edge closer to her.

She was talking with Margaery about some chick lit book that they had both read. He was not interested in what they were saying and wandered off a few feet to look up at the stars. He was looking up at the big dipper and thinking about last weekend. He had only been looking at the sky for a few moments and then he went to scan the crowd to see where Sansa was. She was no longer by the fire so he went in search of her.

He found Margaery and asked her where Sansa was.

"She got a text from Arya and went to the lake. She seemed slightly upset. She kept saying something about making sure Arya was okay. She was out on a first date." She said. "Why?"

"Nothing. I want to ask her something about our lit homework." Sandor said as he walked away to the lake.

He saw Arya with Sansa walking along the lake and rushed over to the girls. He did not want Sansa to see Joffrey.

"Sansa wait up." Sandor shouted.

"Sandor want are you doing?" She sounded surprised to see him.

"I am just taking a walk." Sandor didn't know where Joffrey was so he wanted to lead her away from the lake. "Do you want to go back to the party? I really like the band. You too Arya. You should come too.' He put in as an afterthought.

"We were talking Sandor. Sister stuff. Is it important?" Sansa asked.

"It is. I just have a few questions. It won't take that long." Sandor said. He knew that he was stretching the truth, but he wanted to do whatever he could to stop Sansa from being hurt. He knew that if she saw what Joffrey was doing then she would be devastated.

"Alright, I'll come with you. But please make it quick. I will be there in a moment Arya." She looked at her sister and then walked over to Sandor.

"Thanks for coming with me. I just have a few things that I want…" He didn't get to finish his sentence.

There was a yell from the trees. He knew that Arya had stumbled upon Joffrey and the other girl. He should have insisted that she come too, but he had forgotten about her in his haste to get Sansa away. Sansa went running to the sound of her sister's scream. Sandor went after Sansa.

He found Arya in a clearing where Joffrey and some unknown girl were standing arranging her clothing. Arya was yelling at Joffrey. Joffrey was yelling back.

"You scum! You cheating piece of shit!" Arya screeched.

"Get out of here bitch!" Joffrey shot back.

Arya flew across the clearing and slapped Joffrey in the face. Joffrey drew back his hand to strike Arya but she hit him again. Then Sansa started yelling.

"Stop, stop this!" She sounded close to tears. "Just stop."

Arya backed away from Joffrey but he grabbed her hair to stop her from walking away. He pushed her to the ground. He aimed a kick at her side and Sandor went to stop him. Sandor was there between Arya's body on the ground and Joffrey booted foot. Arya rolled away but she stayed on her knees. Sansa was yelling from the corner of the clearing. Sandor noticed nothing else, standing between Sansa and Joffrey.

The scuffle had drawn the attention of a crowd. He saw Gendry turn Joffrey around and sucker punch the worm in the stomach. He helped Arya off the ground and she went to stop Gendry from hitting Joffrey. Arya and Gendry walked away and diapered into the trees. Joffrey was bent over breathing roughly. Sansa was crying and Sandor went to put his arm around her. They got away from the group to a place down the lake where someone had made a small fire with drift wood. She sat on a large log.

"You knew. You knew that he would be here with her and that is why you wanted to talk to me. How could you do this to me?" Sansa cried.

"Sansa I am so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I wanted to protect you." He pleaded with her.

Joffery walked out of the woods and came over to them. He grabbed Sandor by the shoulders and tried to shake him. He was oblivious to his girlfriend on the log by the fire.

"Why did that bitch come and find me. Did you send her?! Did you?" He screamed at him. Then he noticed Sansa. "Stop crying. Nothing happened." He let go of him and went to Sansa. He tried to take her into his arms.

"Let her go Joffrey. You do not want to be doing this." Sandor said with barley controlled rage in his voice.

"Fuck you dog. I gave you one request and you couldn't even do that. I just wanted to have a good time and this is what I get." Joffrey spat.

He went back to shaking Sansa and telling her that she was nothing.

Sandor cracked. He took Joffrey's hand and twisted it hard. He let go of Sansa and she ran away further down the lake.

"You stay away from her from now on." Sandor said.

"Or what?" Joffrey asked.

"I will make sure it is the last thing that you do." Sandor threatened.

He turned and went to find Sansa sitting by the lake on a log. She was crying and he felt powerless to stop her. He came up behind her and sat down next to her.

"Sansa are you alright?" He asked.

"Fine." She sniffed. "I just saw my boyfriend try to beat up my sister and she found him having sex with someone else. Things could not be better." She was cold and detached.

She was sitting there shivering so he took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

"I am sorry. He said that he was going to do this tonight, but I really didn't think he would. I didn't believe that he would hurt you." He lied.

"I am sorry too." She said. She sat there and collected herself. They sat there lessening to the sound of the surf hitting the rocks. He wanted to say so much to her, but he couldn't. So he said the one thing he wanted to know most.

"So, what now?" Sandor asked.

"Now I wipe the tears away and go home." She said standing up from the log. His jacket fell away from her and she walked away from him.


	14. Fallout

Gendry

He was boiling with blood lust. He felt it burning with in him. He had wanted to kill Joffery for hurting Arya, for touching Arya. If it wasn't for her walking beside him he would have gone back and killed him. She was shaking and he could hear her teeth chattering as they walked in the trees away from the chaos that had erupted with Joffery as the eye of the storm. He was glad he had followed her and Sansa, but at a distance after the last song. Arya was clearly shaken up theta one of her poems had been turned into a song with out her permission. She had said she needed to talk with her sister, so she went to find her. Gendry didn't like the idea of her going off in a strange place without someone with her to ward off the stupid drunks, so he waited behind for a few moments and slipped into then shadows. The sisters walked to the lake. Then he spotted Sandor walk over to them. They had a slight decision and Arya wandered into the woods alone. He was about to follow Arya into the woods, but he didn't like the way Sansa was acting with the Hound. He was torn, go save his date or make sure her sister was okay first. Then his mind was made up for him. Arya screamed.

Gendry had been on the other side of the woods so it took him a few moments to reach her. When he came into the clearing he saw Arya on the ground. He went to her, helped her up. He looked around that everyone there. Joffery stood, his pants unbuckled, almost to his knees, a girl in a cheer uniform, topless against a tree. He figured that they had been doing it and Arya found him. Joffery was yelling at Sansa and walking menacingly to her. Sandor took Sansa away. Then he turned to Arya.

"You bitch. I am going to give you a slap. Payback bitch." Joffery walked two steps over to them. Gendry put her behind him and glared at him. The shit reconsidered and put his clothes back on. Then Gendry took Arya's hand and started walking. And kept walking.

"Gendry where are we going?" Aryas angry and frightened voice demanded from his side.

"As far away from Joffery Baratheon as possible. If I stay to close to him I will end up killing him for touching you." Gendry said through clenched teeth.

"Can we stop now? I can't hear anyone or see any lights." She tugged on his arm to get him to stop.

Gendry took a deep breath and they stopped walking and he just stood there fuming. Then he realized that Arya was crying. That was when his anger evaporated and his concern for her took over. He pulled her into his chest and held her tight. He tried to think of something kind and comforting to say, but nothing came to mind. All he could do was hold her.

When he felt her stop crying he tilted her head up to look at him and he saw the tears glittering on her face in the moonlight. There was dirt on her cheek where she had fallen to the ground. Her hair had twigs in it, but none of that mattered to him. She was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen and tenderness was building in him for the slight fierce young lady in his arms. She was looking up at him, her eyes wide and confused. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and his hands stayed on her face. She was looking at him and her hands came up to rest on his chest. They stood there for a moment longer when they both moved at the same time.

Their lips met and they melded together. Her arms came up to curl around his neck and one of his hands twined in her hair. She was getting angry that she was to short, so she gave a little jump and he helped her slide her legs around his waist. The hands from her hair moved to support her delightful ass, holding her to him. Like their previous kiss they fought over who was in control of it. She finally yielded and let his tongue enter her mouth. But she did not completely relent control over to him. She stood up on her toes and ground her body to his. He could not take this. He moved his hand from her hair to hold her tighter to him. He let out a moan as she let her hands up under his shirt.

She traced small patterns on his skin that sent a shock right to his groin. He broke the seal that they had created with their mouths and he let his lips trace her jaw and down to the hallow of her throat. Her breath came as fast pants and her hands came back to his chest and to his shoulders. She was gripping on to him as if he was the only stable thing in the world. One of his hands began to roam over her body, starting where they were holding them together at her hips up her torso to her chest. Gendry had been wanting to feel if her breasts felt as perfect as they looked and he was not disappointed. He massaged that tender flesh, his need growing with every second. He found a tender spot on her neck where her collar bone dimples into her neck and he drew his tongue across it savoring the taste of her skin. She clung to him desperately.

"Oh," her voice was soft and she started to whimper as he massaged her breast with his large hand and supported her body against him. "Gendry."

The sound of his name from her lips made him feel as if he was going to die. He had never loved the sound of his name until that moment. She pulled one hand out from under his shirt and pulled his mouth back to hers. They kissed, fought and teased all at the same time. Finally they pulled apart, still clinging to one another, but gasping from oxygen deprivation. Arya started giggling and Gendry started to smile. She slid her locked legs from his waist and touched her feet to solid ground. Once there a full throated laugh erupted from her mouth.

"What is so funny?" He asked. He tried to hide his movements as he secretly sifted his erection. She just smiled at him, looked down at his crouch.

"Now I know you most definitely not gay." She said.

"I never said that I was." He said pulling her close, kissing the top of her head.

"We better get back. The rest of the party is probably still going on. The others might be looking for us. I need to see if Sansa's okay." She said. She pulled slightly from him, but not far enough to leave his arms.

"Come on then." He took her hand and they started walking in the trees back to the party. They didn't talk. They both just glowed from the moment they had just shared. Gendry was happy. This was more then he had hoped. After that kiss Jaqen didn't stand a chance. Gendry was sure of it was he walked hand in hand with Arya in the woods. They got to the fringes of the party. They saw Sansa getting into her car and driving home. Just then Arya's alarm went off. It was the signal she had to leave to get home on time.

"Lets go see if the guys are still going to play. Then if we're done I will give you a ride, since Sansa left without you." He squeezed her hand and they walked to the stage.

"Arya, Gendry. Thank god. Beric says he can't sing, so Thoras is just going to be the D.J. for the next hour. But AEGON and I are going home now. I wanted to make sure you are okay. I heard that you walked into my brother fucking someone. Are you alright?" Myrcella had barley taken a breath as she talked.

"I found him, with a who're, with Sansa behind me. It wasn't pretty. Gendry found me and we went for a walk." Arya said. Gendry smiled at her, making her blush. He squeezed her hand.

"Leg me go find Beric, then we can go okay? Stay here with Myrcella." He gave her a small tender kiss, then walked away. As Gendry left he decided he was addicted to Arya and her sweet kisses.

"Gendry, I'm done. That girlfriend of yours is never allowed to watch me play." Beric corked out.

"If you didn't steal her stuff she wouldn't have hit you." Gendry smacked his friend on the back, causing him to wince. "I have to take her home now. Just going to get my stuff loaded and leave." He walked away before he had to hear Beric complain about how girls were breaking up his band. He worked fast, packed his stuff up and went to find Arya. She had her head close to Myrcella and they were whispering. "What are you two talking about?"

They looked up, like they were guilty of something. "Um, nothing. Ready to go?" Arya asked, waved to Myrcella and took his hand. They found his car and he opened the door for her. She slid into her seat. Gendry got into his seat and turned over the car. They drove away from the party. The music from the ride to the party was still playing. It seemed right for the moment. They didn't talk, but Arya scooted over in the bench seat and sat right next to him.

"Mind if I put my head on your shoulder as we drive?" She asked. "I don't want to lean against the cold window." She had already done what she had asked.

"Sure, I will be your pillow." He slid his arm around her shoulders and her head rested between his neck and shoulder. Soon he heard small snores coming from her. He smiled and drove her home. They pulled up to Winterfell 2.0. The clock said she had ten minutes to get inside before one. He tried to shake her awake. She didn't wake, just scooted closer to his side.

"Arya, its time to wake up. You're home. Time to go." He tried again. Still nothing. He looked at her, looked at the house and decided to try the Sleeping Beauty approach. He kissed her, softly, on the tip of her nose. She shook her head, but her eyes remained closed. He leaned over and kissed her lips. Still nothing. He licked along her lips, she smiled and he took that for a good sign. He leaned down again and kissed her, a real kiss. He felt her wake, she slid her arms around his neck and she kissed him back. He pulled away and found himself looking into her amazing grey eyes.

"That is the best way to wake up." She smiled and stretched. Gendry looked at her neck. There, below her color bone, was a hickey. It was small, but clearly there. He smiled to himself. Tomorrow when she was on her date she would be wearing his mark.

"You better get inside. I'll talk to you probably not tomorrow." He looked sad and showed her his pain.

"I will talk to you as soon as I can. I had a good time tonight, despite everything." She gave him a brush of her lips along his jaw. She got put of the car and walked to her door. He sat there thinking over the night. He made sure she was safe then drove home. He tried to get his head ready for tomorrow. It was going to be one hell of a day.

Bran

"That was Arya's scream." Bran said making his way to the trees and to his sister.

"It's coming from the place that Joffery was at with that girl." Jojen said, leading the way to where he knew the commotion was coming from.

They found Joffery standing in a clearing yelling after Sansa, she was walking away. Arya was being led away from the clearing with Gendry and he saw the Hound going after Sansa, followed by her crazy boyfriend. Myrcella was standing in the clearing holding Aegons hand and shaking in fear.

"Come on. We have to follow Sansa." Bran said.

Meera grabbed his arm. "Bran remember that you don't want to be seen." She looked scared and ready to take him home right now.

"I won't be." He melded into the shadows, like all the Stark children could do. Once he made sure he was not noticable he looked to Meera. She let go of his arm and they walked along the shadows to the edge of the water. Sansa was being shaken by Joffery and he were wiping away her tears, violently. Then from behind Joffery Sandor was there stopping Joffery from hurting his sister. Bran felt the bile rolling up in his throat as he had watched his sister being shaken.

They started arguing and fighting, but Bran was unable to make out what they were saying. He watched as Joffery stalked away, probably in search of a drink. Bran stayed in the shadows and watched as Sandor and Sansa walked away and sat down on some drift wood and he gave her his jacket.

"She doesn't seem to be in danger here. I think we should let Sandor handle things." Jojen said.

The three turned and went back to the main fire. They heard what people were saying about what had just happened and most of it was completely wrong. Meera went up to one of the cheerleaders and asked what had just happened.

"Sansa and Joffery were getting close in the woods and some crazy girl from another school came up and attacked Sansa. Then Sansa's sister accused Joffery of cheating on Sansa and she tried to slap Joffery. He defended himself and blocked her blows and she got hurt somehow, I think a black eye or something. Then that guitar player from the band came up and hit Joffery, for no real reason. Then the guitar guy and Sansa's sister, Arya went off in the trees. Sansa went off to confront Sandor, who was led people away from the clearinv, but let that girl in. I hear she was pissed, her big night was fucked because the Hound couldn't follow directions. Joffery went to clean up his face. It is quite the family drama. Those Starks are strange. Nothing bad ever happened to Joffery until they got here. Well that Sansa is not that bad. I do like her." The girl could have blabbered on longer but Meera moved away and related the false tale to Bran and Jojen.

"I can't believe what these people are saying. Where is this other girl? Did anyone see where she went?" Bran asked.

"No. She just disappeared." Jojen said.

"Bran, you do realize what you saw did come true? The only difference is that it happened by the water and not by the fire." Meera said softly. Her hand was on his elbow, leading him away from the gossips.

'There was a small fire down by the river. I saw it. Sansa went there. But that doesn't mean anything. It was a flook." Bran said dismissively. "Since it happened and we have confirmed that what I saw did come true we should leave now." Bran said walking away to the cars. The three walked fast to the cars. Bran wanted to be in the car and on their way as soon as possible. Once they made it and were all buckled in safe and the heater of the car turned on. Bran sat, waiting for the Reeds to speak.

"What if it happens again Bran? What if you _see_ again?" Jojen asked. He turned and looked at his friend in the dim light.

"I won't. It was just a one time thing." Bran defended. He was not so sure of is stance. It was his hope. He did not want this thing to be with him, always.

"That's what I said. Then it happened again and again. I have them all the time. For instance your sister Arya is getting friendly with Gendry, very friendly." Jojen chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Bran stuttered. "Not again. She has a date tomorrow with another guy. I hate to ask, but she's not having sex?"

"They aren't having sex. Just heavy kissing. I saw them some time ago, in a vision. Making out." Jojen threw out.

"She does like him. But can you keep the _visions_ of my sister's love life to yourself?" Bran asked. Hearing about it all second hand was enough. Knowing about it before it happened was just to much.

"Sure whatever." Jojen said. He turned away from Bran.

Meera started the car and worked her way out of the bay. It was midnight and they went back to the Reeds house for the night. Bran had a lot to think about, but now he wanted to hang outwith his friends.

"So, are there any good movies you think are worth seeing?" Bran asked into the silence.

Sansa

She was hurt, more hurt then she had ever been in her entire life. She did not care that Joffery had cheated on her; she had expected him to do something like that. What hurt was that her closest friend had betrayed her. Sandor had known what Joffery had been up to and he hadn't told her. She cried because she felt that she could not forgive him for that. Her tears had nothing to do with Joffery.

She sat there on the log by the water's edge with Sandor. His large jacket was draped around her slight shoulders, enveloping her with the heat that he had made and his smell. She pulled the jacket in tighter to her. He sat beside her and they did not talk. He tried to comfort her the best way that he knew how. He just gave her his jacket and sat there, not moving or saying a word.

He finally spoke. "So, what now?"

"Now I whip my tears away and go home." She stood and flung his jacket off. She walked a few steps away then turned back to Sandor. She was pissed.

She wanted him to say something, anything. But he just sat there. She was starting to get angry and wanted him to say something, anything. Look at her even. She got fed up with it all and snapped at him.

"How could you do that to me?" She demanded.

"I didn't do anything to you Sansa. I was trying to protect you, really. Try and see that. I'm not your boyfriend. I did not cheat on you with some fucking whore." He sounded anger and frustrated.

"But you knew. You knew that he was going to be here fucking some stupid girl from another school." She said. "You didn't even tell me. You should have told me." She said in a barely audible tone.

"I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to hurt you." Sandor said. He stood and picked up his jacket. She wanted the jackets warmth, but didn't reach for it. She was mad, so she spat angry words at him.

"But you did. You hurt me more then Joffery did. You are my best friend here at Kings Landing. And you hurt me worse then words can ever say." Her voice quivered, she was wavering on the verge of tears again.

She looked up at the sky and tried to think of one moment at the new school that did not involve Sandor. She could not think of a single one. He was the person that showed her around school and introduced to people. She had to cut him out now. He had hurt her to bad. She could forgive Joffery, she knew right now she could forgive him. He was an opportunist and she had not put out the way he liked. She drove him to cheat on her. But Sandor was a different matter. She knew that in time she would forgive him, but not right now.

"I don't know what to do. What should I do Sandor?" She asked.

"I don't know. You have a different way of doing things than most people I know." He said.

She started to shiver from being cold again. Her teeth were chattering and she knew that she should move away from water's edge. The chill coming off the water with every gust of wind made her feel like she was getting a bucket of ice water spilled over her head.

"We should get you some place warm. I am worried that you will catch a cold." Sandor said.

"No. I don't want to leave yet." Her teeth chattered with every word she said.

Sandor gave a frustrated sigh and walked with his jacket held out to her. She hoped that he was putting his arm around her not only to give her the jacket, but because he wanted to be close to her. She snuggled closer to him.

"So does this mean that you have broken things off with Joffery?" He asked.

"Probably, I should. He was a jerk. But I feel sorry for him." She said.

"Don't feel sorry for him. He is a jerk. A worm. You deserve better." Sandor murdered with his head touching the top of hers.

"I may deserve better, but I like Joffery. Or at least the Joffery that isn't drunk or with friends. He is a different person then. I know he wouldn't have done anything with that girl if he had been sober." She said. She knew it was a lie, but it made her feel better saying it out loud.

"Sansa he told me about this girl three nights ago." Sandor told her.

She felt the pit of her stomach drop out. He had known for three days and he hadn't told her. Her head swam. She tried to pull away, but he held her fast. She took comfort from him. But he hurt her with his admission. Why had he not told her?

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered.

"I didn't want to be the one to hurt you." He said.

"You were the one that hurt me." She sprang away and lashed out at the closest thing that she could see. It was his chest.

She pounded her little fists against his chest crying as she did it. He just stood there and took it. She hit him with all the anger she felt. The thinking part of her brain found it strange that he just let her smack him like that. After about ten minutes of this he finally grabbed her wrists and held her to his chest. She felt his hand stroke her hair and then on her back. She got her breathing under control and stayed there with him.

"I don't want to break up. I don't want this relationship to end." Sansa said to the big strong chest she was leaning on. She didn't want to leave the safety that Sandor created for her.

"Then stay with me. Sansa we will get past this. You are my best friend. Trust me when I say I will never hurt you again." He kissed the top of her head. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to give in, but that wasn't part of her plan. She had to think. She took a moment in his arms, gathered herself then took out her phone. She had forty five minutes to get home.

"Shoot, I have to go. Curfew." She said.

"I know. Let me walk you back to your car." He let go a little so he could see her face.

"No. I have to make this walk alone." Sansa deranged herself from him and walked back to her car. People gave her a wide birth. She knew they wanted to come talk to her, they just didn't have the balls. She got to her Baby and turned it over. She let the hot air wash over her. Once warm she drove away. She had a lot to think about. She hoped the drive home would give her the time to think.

Jaqen

His date with Arya was going to be perfect. He did not want to go and meet her at some greasy spoon diner like they had agreed, so he decided to call her that morning at eleven and tell her that he had a better idea.

"What?" The voice in the end of the line sounded more asleep then awake. He felt like an idiot.

"Arya, I am sorry to call you so early, but I was hoping that we could make some alterations to our plans for the day." He tried to keep his voice soft and even to ease her into being awake.

"What? Oh yeah. I had a long night and I kind of did forget. What do you want to do instead?" She asked trying to sound alert and awake now.

"I was thinking that we could go for a picnic in a small park by the gallery instead of the burger place. If that is okay with you." He tried to keep the concern out of his voice. He did not want her to say no.

"I haven't been on one of those since I was a little kid. I used to make my brother Jon have them with me all the time on the grounds of our house. I would love that. At the same time as before?" He could tell she was fully awake now and hanging on his every word.

"I was thinking of a little earlier, if that is okay. The light is very nice in the park and we could get some sketches done down there." That was an afterthought. He had made up the part about the light, but he did want to spend more time with her. He knew that she spent too much of her time Gendry for his comfort.

"That would be great. I really would like that. What time are we talking about here? Like I said it was a long night last night." She yawned into the phone.

"How about two? I can pick you up at your house." Jaqen wanted her to say no. He did not want to meet her family.

"How about at the end of my driveway? That way we could just go and it wouldn't be to strange for us both." She had supplied him with the perfect option.

"That would work out great. I will see you at two, lovely girl." He disconnected the call.

Jaqen went around his studio and collected some supplies that he figured they would need and then went and placed the bag in his beat up jeep. He walked back to his studio and collected the rest of his paintings for the opening. He had not told Arya that it was his opening that they would be going to. He wanted to surprise her, as well as impress her. He was hoping that with his work being seen it would make the art school that he so desperately wanted into except him early. They had said he lacked experience, but that his talent and potential were enough to allow him entrance.

As he placed his last pieces that he wanted to show into his car he went back into the studio and looked at the one that he had been working on last night. It was a scene of snowcapped mountains and evergreen trees. There was a river flowing in the foreground. He wanted to put a cottage by the river and he could imagine Arya Stark living in the cottage that he imagined by that river. He was going to give it to her when he was finished with it. He took one last look at it and walked back out to drive his paintings to the gallery. He drove into the artistic part of town, Gallery Row, he called it. He parked his Jeep in front of the gallery his work was to be displayed and took one of his painting inside with him.

"Jaqen, thank god that you are here with the paintings. We have room for six if they are large, eight if they are medium, eleven if they are small or nine if you combine sizes. So how many do you have for me?" The assistant to the gallery owner demanded as soon as Jaqen stepped foot into the gallery.

"I have twelve of assorted sizes. You can pick which ones to use." He said in his calming voice.

"Great. I will get one of the boys to get them out of the car. Varys is in the office. He wants to talk to you." The assistant walked to a side door and Jaqen could hear her barking orders to the other workers to get the paintings out of his car. Jaqen walked to the office and knocked.

"Jaqen come on in. I have been expecting you." Varys called out.

Jaqen walked in and closed the door. He had a feeling that what Varys had to say was a closed door kind of a conversation.

"Sit down Jaqen." Varys indicated the chair across from his desk.

Jaqen sat and waited for Varys to start talking. It was a game that they played, to see who broke first and started to talk. At the moment they were split evenly on that account. They sat there for five minutes. Jaqen was not in the mood to play today, he had other things on his mind and places to be.

"What is it Varys?" He finally broke the silence.

"If you sell any paintings I would like to increase my fee from eight to twelve percent. I hope that you do not mind. But I have noticed that some of your earlier paintings have sold recently and once you make a name for yourself I know that they will be flying out of here. We both stand to make a lot of money." Varys steeped his fingers together and he gave Jaqen a cool stare.

"This really isn't about money, is it?" Jaqen asked.

"Now why do you say that?" Varys asked back.

"Because you don't care about that. You care about the people who make the art, not how much that they can make you." Jaqen said.

"That is true. But there has been a shift in your work recently and I want to cash in on it. Who is she by the way?" Varys tried to sneak in at the last moment.

"So this is what this is about. You want to know who my muse is." A smile tugged at Jaqens lips. "If you must know it is a lovely girl named Arya."

"Arya? As in Arya Stark?" Varys asked.

"Yes. The very one. Do you know her?" Jaqen leaned slightly forward in his chair.

"Her father. I know him. I decorated the house that they moved into for them. The Starks do not strike me as the kind of people who would let you date one of their daughters." He threw in. The comment made Jaqen angry.

"We are not dating." Jaqen bit out.

"Ah, unrequited love. No wonder your work has improved. Nothing makes a person more artistic then when a person is not given the love that they crave. Painting is a hell of a way to let some of that sexual tension out." Varys smiled at the young man before him. "I hope that she doesn't give in to you to soon. I shudder to think what happy Jaqen would paint. Now get out of here so we can organize the opening for you."

Jaqen knew when he was dismissed. He stood up and walked to the door. But he could not help himself; he had to have the final word.

"She will be here with me tonight. Do not put your fangs into her. She is an artist as well, but she doesn't need the likes of you sniffing around."

"Oh goodie I can't wait to meet her." There was a glee in his friends eye as he walked away.

Jaqen shook his head and walked out the door. He strolled out of the gallery and got to his car. All the paintings were out of his car and there was a note stuck to the steering wheel.

_Do not forget to be here early- Varys_

He had the last word twice. He noticed the time and was surprised to see that it was twelve thirty. He had to go get the food for the picnic with Arya. He did not know what she liked so he went and got a little of everything from the closest store. He picked one of those baskets made for picnics, with the plates and silverware and everything that a person needed for a picnic. He was relieved that he had a blanket in his car and by the time he was done with his shopping he went to go get Arya.

She was leaning against a tree as he drove up. She grabbed her messenger bag that was on the ground by her feet and slung it over her shoulder. She almost ran over to his car and hopped into the passenger seat.

"Hi." She said with a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Hi to you. Are you ready for some art and a picnic?" He asked.

"Yes. Let's hurry. I think that I might have been followed and there is a spy right over my right shoulder." She said looking at him and trying to keep a straight face. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw a little boy in the bushes with a walkie talkie in his hand.

"Then let's go before they try to sneak into the car with us. Who is this spy? Anyone dangerous?" He teased.

"My baby brother, Rickon. He has been trying to find out what is going on with his sister. Thing's went bad last night at Blackwater Bay for Sansa and she has been locked in her room most of the day." She said.

"I had heard that something happened there. I did not want to ask. I heard that you were involved." His voice was soft and comforting.

"I guess that I was. I kind of hit Joffery." Her cheeks blushed and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"I wish that I could have seen that." He offered trying to lighten the darkness that had settled on her as soon as she mentioned her sister and the Baratheon prick.

"Things could have been pretty bad if Sandor and Gendry had not been there. But let's not talk about that. So what is this park that we are going to?" She quickly changed the subject and tugged her light weight scarf higher on her neck. He wanted to know what was under the scarf away from her neck. He bet that the Bastard Bull had marked her and knew he had done it. He felt his anger swell up in him. But he pushed that away from his mind, this was his day and he would not waist it thinking of The Bull.

She had effectively changed the subject. He started to tell her about the park. It was small with a pond in the center and a single willow tree by the water's edge. He told her about the family of ducks that lived there and how he loved to people watch and sketch from there.

They made it to the park and he got the blanket and the basket out. She followed with the art supplies. They sat down and got to eating. He noticed that she was not a fan of the funny named cheese that he had got, but she was a fan of the croissants and fruit. They talked about art and who they liked the best. They talked about who they liked to lessen to while they worked and what they wanted to do with their painting as time went on.

He told her about the art school that he was trying to get into and how badly he wanted to go there. She told him that she had taken up painting as a way to shut her mother up, but that she had fallen in love with it.

"I think that we should start sketching now. It is three thirty and I have to get to the gallery around four thirty, not five." Jaqen said. "It is three thirty now and I want to draw you with this light." He took a sketch pad and charcoal to work with.

"You want to draw me?" She crooked. She had been drinking some lemonade and it almost came out of her nose.

"Yes. You can draw me as well if you want. It is only fair." He offered

They went and sat under the tree and started to sketch. At first he just sat there and looked at her, memorizing the lines of her face. Then he put his pencil to the paper and started to draw. He attempted to get all of her onto the page. He was so wrapped up in his work that he did not realize that she was not working on anything, but just sitting there looking at him. When he was done with her face he put down the sketch book and returned her look.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. You just get this look on your face when you work that I love to watch. It is almost as interesting to just watch your face and not your hands." Arya blushed and looked down at her hands again.

He placed his hand on hers and pulled her closer to him. He smiled down at her and she gave him a small one in return. He inched closer to her. He had to remind himself to go slow. He touched her lips with his, lightly. It was a soft kiss, fleeting and tentative. He tried to put in the kiss the desire that he felt for her and the longing that he also felt whenever he saw her, into the kiss. He knew that she was trying to tell him something with her lips but he was to happy with the idea of kissing her to recognize what she was trying to tell him.

He pulled back first and sat there looking at her. She did not look surprised, but pleased.

"That was nice. Maybe we should do it again sometime. Maybe a little longer next time." She said. She looked so pleased. She wanted to kiss him more. That was spmething he could work with.

"We better be going to the opening. If I am late Varys will shoot me." Jaqen said.

"Why would he kill you? Are you that important?" She asked sitting back.

"Well it is my exhibit. I wanted it to be a surprise for you." He blushed and looked at her.

"Yours? That is so amazing." She squealed. She hugged him and smiled at him.

"Come on, I have to get to the gallery." He pulled her to her feet and they packed up their picnic and art things and got into the car and drove to the gallery.

Sandor

He felt like he was the scum of the earth. He never realized that what he had tried to do to protect Sansa would backfired on him and he would be the one that would end up hurting her. Last night when he had sat there by the water's edge and held her he felt so pleased. She was there in his arms again. It felt so right when he held her. But the illusion was shattered when she said that she thought that she had to end things with him. She sounded so sure and sad at the same time, but there was finality in her voice, a steely determination that he knew that no matter what he said or did she would not change her mind.

So the next day he tried to text her and emailed her, and there was no reply. He then tried to call her. Still no answer. He was so frustrated. He just wanted to talk to her one more time and apologize. He wanted to make it up to her. He thought about sending her flowers, or something along those lines, but he told himself that that was something that a boyfriend did, and he was not the boyfriend. He was her friend, apparently the best friend that she had here and he had destroyed any trust that he had made with her. He was saddened by the realization that she was his best friend too. The loss of her presence in his life was like the stars all going out at once.

He had sat there on his bed and tried to not to think about her. He turned on some music to drown out the noise in his own head. It was not working. He got up and walked around his room. It was not helping. Then he heard his phone ring. He fought not to run the four steps that it took him to get to his bed to his desk where his phone was.

He looked at the name on the caller ID and did not want to answer it. It was Joffery so he could not ignore him.

"Hello." His deep voice asked.

"Guess what Dog, she took me back. This girl is either the most gullible thing in the world or so desperate for a boyfriend that she will stay with me knowing what I had done. It probably the jewelry I sent her with the roses this morning. That always works. Chicks are fools." Joffery said.

Sandor did not know what to say. He felt bile rise in his throat.

"And since she is my girlfriend still I will be putting my hands on her, so you better not threaten me again. Do you understand me?" Joffery tried to make himself sound menacing. If Sandor was not so sickened he would have laughed.

"Sure thing Joffery. I have to go." Sandor hung up the phone.

He couldn't his house anymore. He grabbed his keys and headed out for a drive.

He drove and drove. The sun was setting and he found himself at the beach. He got out of his car and walked to the ocean. There was one other car in the parking lot and it looked slightly familiar to him. He walked along the surf not caring that he was getting his shoes wet, not caring that his pants were soaked as well. He just had to walk. It was either walk or kill Joffery. Sandor didn't want to go to jail, not for the worm.

Then he heard a guitar playing ahead of him. He looked over to where he thought the music was coming from and saw Gendry sitting on a log playing his guitar. He did not want to intrude on him, but he knew the look that was on Gendry's face. It was the same one that he had on his face. The guy was in pain and pissed at the same time.

He walked over to where Gendry was sitting. He cleared his throat.

"You sound as miserable as I am." Sandor said coming up behind him.

"Holy shit Clegane, don't sneak up on a people. I almost spilled my drink." Gendry barked out.

"Sorry. Can I sit down?" He asked. "Misery always wants company."

"Sure. So what brings you here?" He asked.

"I bet the same thing as for you. Problem with a Stark. I have it with Sansa and I am betting that you have it with Arya." Sandor said as he sat down next to him. "What were you playing just now?"

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The Beatle song. Do you know it?" Gendry asked as he starts to pluck at the strings.

"I do. It's a personal favorite songs, and I think that it is appropriate, given the circumstances." Sandor said.

Gendry started to play the song again and he began to sing the lyrics this time. Sandor surprised himself and Gendry when he started to sing along with him.

'I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping  
>While my guitar gently weeps<br>I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping  
>Still my guitar gently weeps<p>

I don't know why nobody told you  
>How to unfold your love<br>I don't know know how someone controlled you  
>They bought and they sold you<p>

I look at the world and I notice it turning  
>While my guitar gently weeps<br>With every mistake we must surly be learning  
>Still my guitar gently weeps<p>

I don't know how you were diverted  
>You were perverted to<br>I don't know how you were inverted  
>No one alerted you<p>

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping  
>While my guitar gently weeps<br>Look at you all...  
>Still my guitar gently weeps'<p>

They finished the song and sat there looking out at the ocean and lessened to the waves crashing into the shore.

"Arya is out on a date with someone else. Fuck I need a drink." Gendry said.

"Sansa didn't break up with Joffery. They are still together. And I think I lost my best friend." Sandor said.

"We're both fucked then. They are both with the wrong person for them, and they can't see it." Gendry sighed.

"I know where we can get that drink. Come on Gendry. Time to get out of here, the sun is almost down." Sandor said as he stood up.

He offered his hand to Gendry who just looked at it. He then took it and they let Sandor get him to his feet.

"Follow me in your car. I'm taking you to a place we can drink and not be bothered." Sandor smiled for the first time all day. Gendry returned his smile and they got into their cars and drove away from the beach. Sandor made two stops before they got where they were going. He got them pizza and booze.

"This looks like its going to be a good night." Gendry said as he finally got out of his car at the clearing.

"It will be. I'm going to make a fire, then we can start drowning our misery." Sandor began to stack wood in a stone fire place he made long ago.

"Hey Sandor, would you do me a favor? Can you take my phone? I don't want to call Arya when I get drunk." Gendry held out his phone.

"Sure, I can do that. Only of you take mine." Sandor held his phone out to Gendry. They switched phones, lit the fire, ate a slice of pizza and sat there silently.

"So what poison did you get us?" Gendry asked.

"Whiskey and vodka. Two of each. I didn't get any chasers though." Sandor pulled out the bottles, took a whiskey and opened the bottle. Gendry took the others. He walked to his car and took out some sodas.

"Here, this will make the start easier." He threw Sandor the soda and cracked his opened. Gendry took a large swig from his bottle and took a pull on his soda.

Sandor looked down at his bottle, thought of Sansa staying with Joffery and took large pull from his bottle. It burned down his throat and he felt it warm the frozen places inside him. He took another pull and looked at Gendry. Je was setting up some music. It was some kind of angry rock band. It was just what he wanted.

"catch up pal. I have drank more than you." Sandor said when Gendry walked over to a log. Gendry took a drink and settled down.

"To the Stark Girls. May they pull their heads out of their asses soon." Gendry said, raising his bottle up in a toast.

"To the Stark Girls." Sandor reached over and clinked bottles with Gendry. They drank, swigging down as fast as they could.


	15. Drunk Dials

Arya

Arya had had an incredible time with Jaqen. There was no drama, no fights, nothing but a good time. The picnic was perfect; it had been like they were on their own private island in the busy city. The opening was fantastic. Arya was shocked when Jaqen had told her it was his opening. Jaqen had real talent and she was so proud of him, impressed and turned on all at the same time. The only strange part of the whole evening was when she met an odd man by the name of Varys. Just Varys, like Madonna or Cher.

She had been standing with Jaqen looking at one of his paintings of a wolf howling at the moon when she heard a soft cough behind her. She spun around and saw one of the strangest dressed people she had ever seen. He was bald and in a loose flowing type shirt in lilac with wide legged linen pants that were a hideous shade of orange.

"You are a Stark, there is no mistaking it in your child." He said in a soft toned voice.

"Do I know you?" She asked trying not to be rude but because it was not how she had been raised, but she couldn't help it. The guy creeped her out.

"Not yet dear child, but I am known to your father. I am Varys and this is my gallery. I have let lovely Jaqen here use to debut his work." He took her hand in his and gave it a kiss. His lips felt like they were made out of wax and she pulled back her hand as soon as he loosened his grip.

"Well it seems as if things are going well for your gallery then. Jaqen has talent and compared to the other works in here you need someone good to keep this place afloat." She said without thinking.

Varys laughed and just shook his head. He turned to Jaqen and said, "I can see why you like her and why she is doing so much good. She is a treasure Jaqen, one of the greatest in the world. Do not let her get away."

He walked away, but the meeting left her unsettled for the remainder of the evening.

Then right before they were about to leave he came up to her when she found herself alone.

"Jaqen said that you to are an artist. I would love to see your work. Here is my card. Call or come by any time. I have an eye for the gifted and I think you my dear may be one of the true greats." He handed her his card and she thanked him and put it in her bag. Jaqen walked over to her and there was a deadly anger in his eyes as he looked at Varys.

"Are you ready to go Arya?" His voice shook with controlled rage. The anger shocked Arya. This was a new side to Jaqen.

"Yeah. Lets get the hell out of here." She smiled at him and his anger left his eyes, but she still saw it in his body. They walked to his jeep and she climbed in. By the time Jaqen got in all traces of his anger had left him. She was slightly confused about where it had all come from. Was it because Varys wanted to see her work or because what he had told her about Jaqen?

So how did you like our date?" Jaqen asked in a soft questioning voice. It held an edge of uncertainty.

"I had an amazing time. I loved the picnic. I didn't want to leave." She smiled at him.

"We should have stayed there. It was a magical place." He reached over and took her hand. Her palm was slightly sweaty, but his was cool and dry. Even after spending all day with him he still made her nervous. She knew she still had to tell him about last night. She had kept her scarf on all day. She had to tell him, but not yet.

Jaqen drove her home after that. She did not get out right away. She just sat there looking at him.

"I had a great day. I loved the opening and wanted to take all them home with me. I know that you will get in to that snobby art school." She said sheepishly.

"I would give them all to you if I could. You did rather well with Varys tonight." Jaqen had said.

"He sort of gave me the creeps to tell you the truth. So about that thing in the park… That was nice, but I have to tell you something. I kissed Gendry last night when we were out. I had to tell you that, since you kissed me." She sat there waiting for him to say something, but he sat silent.

She squirmed in her seat and did not know what to do. Should she get out of the car or sit there? Was he going to yell at her or something worse?

What she was not expecting was for him to grab her by the shoulders and give her a crushing kiss that was nothing like the tender butterfly light kiss that they had shared in the park. This one was full of desire and passion and heat. He did not compromise the way that Gendry did. Jaqen took command and she had to go with his direction. He was kissing her in such a way that contradicted his personality that he had shown her before. He was fierce, determined and in total control of everything.

When they broke apart he was stroking her face with his forehead resting against hers. They stayed there for a few moments. He had smiled at her and she had returned it.

"I should get inside. I um, I have to get into the house." She stammered. This kiss had left her confused and out of her depth.

"Yes you do, my lovely girl." He tucked her hair behind her hair and gave her one last quick kiss. His hand lingered on the scarf. He kept looking at her neck. There was a question on his eye, but she did not have the guts to show him the mark Gendry had left on her.

She stumbled out of the jeep and walked to the door of her house a little unsteadily. No one was in the hall so she walked as fast as she could to the stairs. Once made it upstairs she went straight for her bedroom.

She just had to call Jon. She was even more confused then she had been at the start of the week. There was something to amazing about the both of them. Gendry made her competitive nature come out in ways that she would not have known possible when she kissed someone. He also set her on fire, wanting to go further then she ever had before. And Jaqen made her yielding and made her feel like she could be molded. It was a feeling she was not used to. They were so different and she was so confused. What was she going to do?

She made it to her room and she kicked off the heels that she was wearing and went and collapsed on the bed. She dialed the number that she had known by heart for so long that she could punch the numbers into a phone in her sleep.

"What is it now Little Wolf? I am out on a date. Is it a life or death situation?" Jon had to shout into the phone to be heard.

"Yes it is life or death. I do not know what to do Jon. I have dated them both and I do not know what to do." She whined into the phone. "If things become any more complicated I will become a lesbian."

Jon chuckled and she heard the back ground noise go down.

"That would not make things easier for you sis. I have some advice that I think you should take. We are all coming down for Christmas, so to make your choice let Robb, Theon and I meet them. The one who does not run away is the one for you. We can put on the intimidation and scare the crap out of them. It should be easy to do. We all are pretty intimidating." Jon said.

"I couldn't do that Jon. I know which one that you would like. You would like Gendry. You are so much like each other that you would go easy on him and give Jaqen a hard time because you won't like him as much. Dad likes Gendry. He even invited him to come over whenever he wants." Arya chuckled. "He seems to have dads vote."

"And you don't think that dad is a good enough judge in who you should be with?" Jon asked.

"Well he didn't meet Jaqen today. I didn't want him comparing the two of them. They are to different for that." She tried to picture her father interacting with Jaqen and they looked uncomfortable in her mind.

"Arya you will have to pick and soon. That is just the way things are. I think that you will have to by the New Year." Jon said.

"I know. I have no idea who I will pick. Maybe you should just pick for me Jon." Arya was only half kidding as she said this.

"I can meet them and give you my take on the whole thing." Jon said.

"I can deal with that. Thank you Jon. You are the best." Arya smiled even though she knew that he couldn't see it. "Now get back to your date and apologize for me to her for interrupting."

"Okay. I love you Little Wolf."

"Love you to brother."

They disconnected. She stood up and walked to her door. She had her hand on the door knob when there was a soft knock on it. Startled she opened it suddenly. It was only Rickon.

"Sansa has gotten a whole bunch of flowers and a big pair of earrings with diamond on them. They look nicer then moms. I don't know who sent them but she is upset. She locked herself in her room. Then she came out and Mom wanted to know who sent them and all she would say is that they were from her boyfriend. I don't know who that is, do you?" Rickon rambles in the classic Rickon fashion.

Arya had a sinking feeling. She had not been able to talk to her sister about what happened last night. She wanted to tell her that she didn't need Joffery and she wanted to make sure she was okay.

"I hope that I don't." Arya said. "I have to go talk to Sansa."

"But she is not in right now. She is out with Margaery. They went shopping. What is going on Arya?" Rickon whined. "Just because I am the littlest doesn't mean that I don't like not knowing what's going on."

"It's all icky girl stuff Rickon. You don't want to know." Arya said ruffling his hair.

"Well why didn't you just say that?" Rickon demanded as he stomped down the hall. "I wouldn't have spent most of my day spying on things."

She walked to Brans room. She just banged into the room. Bran was sitting at his desk with his headphones on oblivious to everything but what was on his computer. She tip toed over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What the fuck." Bran yelled. He ripped off the headphones and whirled around in his chair. "Arya what the hell! I could have had a heart attack or a stroke!"

"Sansa is back with Joffery, even after everything that I saw and what she saw and she still took that fucking asshole back!" Arya seethed.

"I know I have been here most of the day. I saw the flowers and the jewelry." Bran huffed.

"What is she doing? I can't imagine what she is doing. We should beat her up like we did when we were kids. That will make her dump him right?" Arya asked. She flopped down on his bed and punched a pillow.

"No that won't work Arya. She has her reasons. We cannot make her change her mind. She is going to have to just do what she is doing and decide on her own what is right and see if things are in fact worth it." Bran told her.

"Why are you so rational all the time?" She asked.

"Because I am the one with the brains." He answered.

As the two Starks laughed her phone rang. She looked down at the name on her caller ID. It was Gendry.

"Hello?"

"Arya Stark, you are the most sexiest woman that I know. I want to throw you down and devour you like an animal." Gendry stammered. "I really liiikkkee yyoooouuuu." He sang into the phone.

Arya sat there with her jaw hanging opened. It was only nine o'clock. What was he doing?

"Gendry are you drunk?" She demanded into the phone.

"And if I am what are you going to do about that? What is it with you Stark girls? I am my own people. I had to do something. Stupid art fucker. And that sister of yours has my good friend here all messed up too. As messed up as I am over you. Where did you learn to do this to guys at? I like you and you go out with someone else. That is not cool Arya. Not coooolll at all." Gendrys voice was getting louder and louder.

"Gendry I don't think that we should be talking right now. You need to sleep it off. I will talk to you at school okay?" She didn't want to provoke him. She was shocked and worried about him.

"What eevver you ssayyy ppprrreetttty gurl. Whatever you say. I jus wanna kiss you and smwll you. You smell so good and you taste so goood. Better then this bottle here." He slurred. "I'm gonna git you someday. Sexy sex. Ooohh yeah." He disconnected.

Arya sat there in shocked silence as she hung up the phone. She stood there with her mouth hanging opened and could not seem to shut it.

"Arya are you alright?" Bran asked.

"I think that Gendry just drunk dialed me." She looked down at her phone. Then she started to laugh. Tears were running down her face. Not from laughing so hard, but from fear. What he had said hit her. He really liked her and her actions hurt him. Bran came over to her and gave her a hug.

"Do you like him?" Her brother asked softly.

"I do. But I also like Jaqen too. Jon said to go on a date with them both, but it hurt Gendry. And now after this I still don't know who to chose. Jon said to be their friend and wait till the older boys come here for Christmas so they can meet them and give me his advice in person." Arya confessed to her younger brother.

"Jon wouldn't ever lead you wrong. I like his advice. And since I am the smart one do what I say." He gave her shoulders a squeeze.

"Okay Brain Boy." She wiped her nose on her scarf, took it off and held it in her lap. She felt better now.

"Arya is that a hickey?" Bran asked.

She blushed. "No. Its not." She stood and Bran was laughing at her so she punched him in the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?" He asked rubbing his arm.

"Just my way of saying thanks and I love you." Arya left jim there laughing even harder.

Sansa

She felt so angry with herself. She had been made a fool of and she had lost her best friend. She had been used and she had become a doormat. That morning she had taken Joffery back after she had heard what the rumors had been saying. They said that he was innocent. That her sister attacked him for no reason. He was the victom in the eyes of the people, not her. If she did break up with him she would be seen as a real bitch. He was still St. Joffery and could do no wrong. If she dumped him she would loose everything she had gained.

She had sat there in her room feeling dejected and betrayed. Then there had been a knock on her door.

"Sansa there is a present for you down stairs. Mom wants to see you." Rickon said as she let him into the room. He ran over and jumped on the bed. "She looked mad about it. She kept muttering to dad about how it was a disgusting show of money. Whatever that means. But you should get down stairs."

Sansa walked down the stairs to her father's study. Her parents were standing there looking at a rather large and extravagant arrangement of flowers and a velvet box sitting next to it. She entered the room.

"Rickon said that you wanted to see me?" She asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes Sansa dear. This just came for you. There is not a card. Do you know who sent this to you?" Catelyn asked.

"I think it may be from Joffery. We have been dating for a little while and this might be his way of showing that he likes me." She lied hoping that it was good enough for her parents.

"Is that all Sansa?" Her father asked. He heard something. He wouldn't have asked otherwise.

"Yes father. It is." She walked over to the box and opened it. Inside nestled in more velvet there were two large looking diamonds on thin strings.

They took her breath away and she was shocked. They must have cost quite a lot of money.

"Is there anything else that you need mother, father? I have some homework that I need to get dine before I go shopping with Margaery."

"There is nothing that we need." Her father said.

She took the earrings in her hand and tried to lift the flowers. She discovered that she could not carry the flowers effectively and she gave up.

"Do you want them in your room or do you want them to stay down here?" Her father asked from his desk.

"Whatever you think is best." Sansa said as she walked out the door.

Once she was in her room she put the box in her jewelry box. There was something unclean about them to her. She did not want to look at them. She felt sick now. There really was no way to break up with him now.

She sat there and then her phone rang. She knew that it was Joffery. She had to pretend to be thankful and bubbly.

"Oh gosh Joffery! Thank you so much for the earrings and the flowers Joffery. Oh they are so perfect." She gushed.

"So does this mean that I am forgiven?" He asked. "I don't know what happened last night. It was all a misunderstanding. I had been talking with this girl and she said that she could get me some pot, that is all that I wanted. And I was so drunk that she took advantage of me." Joffery said.

She knew that it was all a lie. That he had planned to have sex with that slut, she had even heard that girl talking about it herself. But she said that she believed him. She hoped that she was not laying it on to thick. But Joffery was not smart enough to see that she was revolted and everything was a lie.

"So does this mean that you are still my girl? I won't hurt you again, ever. You know that right?" He asked pretending concern.

"I believe you Joffery. I really do. I have to get some homework done now. I will call you tomorrow. How about we go to dinner and a movie soon?" She asked him trying to sound desperate.

"Yes that will be nice. Just the two of us. Like a proper couple. Go get that homework done. I don't want you to have a reason for not coming out with me tomorrow night." He didn't even say good bye when he disconnected the call.

Sansa did her homework. She had to write a five page essay about the women in Shakespeare plays. She decided to have her main focus be on Ophelia, Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth and Juliet. She could feel a connection with all of them, especially Ophelia. Her plunge into insanity was something that Sansa felt that she was experiencing herself.

She had finished the paper and decided that she should call Margaery.

"So did you take him back?" Not even a hello.

"Yes I did. I had to. Everyone thinks that he is an angle still. That he did nothing wrong. I had to take him back. Then he gave me this cock and bull story about the girl sellingm him pot and taking advantage of him. Thats what everyone will think. Oh that and my sister is an evil bitch. I didn't think that I could do anything different." She sat at her desk and rubbed her head.

"What happened with Sandor? What happened with him?" Margaery asked. Sansa knew that she was trying to be her friend, but also because she wanted information.

"I guess for lack of a better term I broke up with him." Her stomach turned over at the thought.

"My gods Sansa I am sorry. I know that he meant a lot to you." Margaerys voice was filled with distress on her account. It was real as well, not fake at all.

"Is it bad that I feel worse that I lost Sandor, more then what Joffery did to me?" She asked, feeling confused. She wanted to have someone tell her that she was crazy, that what she felt for Sandor was wrong. But she knew that Margaery was not going to tell her that.

"Sansa I know that you like Sandor, and I know that he likes you as well. So why are you with Joffery then?" Margaery demanded.

"Joffery is a tool. A means to an end. I do not want to explain this right now. But things with Joffery are not going to last for much longer, I just need him for a little longer." Sansa told her friend.

"I hope you know what you are doing. Sandor is a patient man, but you leave a man in a life boat to long they will begin to go crazy. Now when do you want to leave?" Margaery asked.

"Twenty minutes? Meet at the mall?" Sansa asked.

"That sounds very perfect. See you soon." Margaery said.

She looked one last time at the earrings and felt bile rise up. Walking down the stairs the disgusting display of flowers was on the center table in the entry hall. It all disgusted her so she ran outside to her car. It was getting dark. It still stayed light longer here, but it was still light enough she could walk to her car without lights on.

Sansa drove to the mall and met Margaery there to get some early Christmas shopping done. She was having such a good time shopping and being a girl that she forgot about Joffery and Sandor and threw herself into her first love. Buying things that were pretty and fashionable. She got something for everyone. Her mother got a silk scarf, for her father she got him a knife with a picture of the North on the handle. She found a role playing game called A Song of Fire and Ice for Rickon. She remembered him saying Tommen played it and he wanted to try it too. Bran got a gift card for a vintage bookstore. Her older brothers got the same thing, wallets. Arya got a diary, purple. Her shopping was done and she was relieved that she had a few weeks' time in case she wanted to get something different for someone.

They were sitting in the food court,sipping smoothies and laughing about some weird fashion in store windows. It was getting close to nine thirty when her phone rang. She looked at the name plate and saw it was Sandor. She would not lie, her heart skipped a beat. She picked up the phone and she knew that there was a smile on her face.

"Hello Sandor." She tried not to sound eager to talk to him.

"Sansa I am wanting to know what you think you are doing with a disgusting worm like Joffery. He is a worm, you know. He is just using you, using you." Sandor howled into the phone. "You deserve bet, you need, fuck. I mean do better then him. A better man. Like someone different. Not a worm."

"Sandor are you drunk?" She asked astonished.

"And what if I am. I am a grown ass man. No body to do good for. So I'm drinking alittle. I am just here with my new best friend and we are sitting here talkin about what is wrong with the Stark girls. Why do you yank a guy around by the chain? You string us along and then you go out with douche bags." Sandor continued to slur into the phone. "Why douche bags? What tje fuckmis wrong with the tough guys who are nice too? Is it so hard to be with somebody who likes you? Likes you, what a funny thing. Shit. My bottle is almost gone. Hey man, where is the othrr, I mean ofer. Fuck, other one?"

"I don't think that you should be talking to me at the moment. You are talking nonsense. Sandor I am going to call you tomorrow to make sure that you are feeling okay." Sansa tried to sound soothing.

"You do that you little vixen. That is what you are a vixen. That was the first thing that came into my head the first time that I saw you. I said, I said to myself that that girl is a vixen and she would be amazing. She'd make me feel amazing." Sandor began to sing into the phone.

"Sandor, I'm hanging up now." Sansa said.

"Okkayy. I am going to call you, you know that? Or are you going to call me? Fuck it, we will talk. You are my little vixen. Good night little vixen." Sandor hung up the phone.

Sansa sat there shocked. A real man indeed.

"Sansa was that Sandor?" Margaery asked.

"Yes that was Sandor. He was drunk. He drunk dialed me. He said that he was with his new best friend. Who do you think that is?"

"I don't know. I'm more worried about Sandor being drunk. Never in the whole time I've known him I have never seen him drunk. You really did a number on him." Margery sipped her smoothie.

"He calls me his little vixen." Sansa said, giving a giggle.

"He must like you. But remember what I said about med on life boats. Get what you need then dump Joff." Margery waved her drink cup at her. "Come on. Time to get home." Margery left their booth and walked away. Sansa hurried after. Her mind was still on the phone call. This was the first time he admitted he liked her. This changed things, didn't it?


	16. The Fog Clears

Myrcella

Her weekend was a mix of amazing and horrible. She had a shitty time at home Saturday morning with Joffrey ranting and raging. Sansa had told Joffrey that she wanted to be done, then Sansa had taken him back. She had watched her mother call her jeweler and order a necklace to send to Sansa. Myrcella guessed the sad ploy worked. She wished it hadn't, she had to suffer watching him strut around the house when Sansa took him back. He gloated and boasted to his friends that he had come over to drink and play video games.

"She took me back after catching me with my pants around my ankles with another girl up against a tree and she still takes me back. Am I a good lire or what? I told her that the girl was giving me some pot, she totally bought that." Myrcella had overheard Joffrey telling his friends. "Gods she is so dumb. I love them dumb. It makes things so much easier."

She had walked away from the media room at that point to get ready for her date with Aegon. They were going for a drive and she remembered the last time. It was cold and thrilling. She dressed in layers that still made her look good, but would keep her warm.

Aegon pulled up to her house to pick her up at four o'clock. She had practically ran out to see him and jumped on his bike before he had time to shut off the engine.

"Eager to see me are you?" Aegon asked when he handed her a helmet.

"Eager to get away from this house." She said yanking on the helmet.

She wrapped her arms around his middle and off they flew. He wove his bike in and out of the traffic and down the freeway. Aegon took an exit to the beach and they continued onto their way. They drove along the coastal highway for a while but turned off to a drive to a small town. They rode the winding and curving road at neck break speeds. Myrcella was enjoying the sensation of holding onto him and pressing her body to his. The hum of the bike and the way Aegon always took a moment to touch her leg made her forget everything that was happening at home. Her parents escalating fights, Joffrey and his depraved behavior going out of control. These facts plagued her every waking hour of every day, except when she was with Aegon. They drove through little tourist towns and small village like places, she wanted to stop in each, but AEGON kept telling her to wait, they'd be there soon. After driving for two hours they finally stopped at one of the little tourist towns.

It was small, only 600 people or so. The main street was overlooking a cliff and the houses were small and clean. It was a postcard village. Myrcella could picture herself in one of those small houses. She would paint her house blue and the door and shutters white. She looked around and just wanted to live here, for the rest of her life. She would quit school, open a dance studio and teach kids. It's what she wanted to do after school, well that and work for her father's company. But that wouldn't happen when her brother took over. She would probably find herself in a small town teaching dance. Looking the place over made her decide that wouldn't be a bad thing, not with Argon by her side.

"I was thinking that we could stop here for dinner. They have the best fish and chips in the world." Aegon told her as they untangled from each other off the back of the bike.

"I can't feel my ass Aegon. Don't get me wrong I liked the ride, but did it have to be so long?" She wined as they started to walk to the little restaurant that was on the edge of the cliff.

"Do you feel this?" He asked as he grabbed her ass.

"Yes. I do feel that." She giggled. "And I like it."

She slipped her hand into his back pocket and they continued to walk in to get the "best fish and chips in the world". She heard the crash of the waves on the rocks. It was nice and peaceful, so much better than Kings Landing and the noise and pollution.

"Aegon! It has been far to long since you were here last." A plump woman all but shouted as she saw Aegon.

"Hey there Betty. Can we have a table on the covered patio? Cella likes the ocean." Aegon said as he hugged the lady.

"Anything for you dear. And I am so glad to see that you have a girlfriend now. Cella is it?" Betty extended her hand to Myrcella.

"It is nice to meet you Betty. How do you know Aegon?" She asked as Betty led them to a table.

"He has been working here during the summer since he was a small boy. He comes and lives in this small town of ours with his uncle every summer. He is our bus boys. We wait around for him all year. He really brings life to this place." Betty gave him a proud maternal smile.

"You make it sound so glamorous. This sure is impressing the girl here. Two fish and chips, with iced tea please." Aegon asked.

"Anything for you my dear. And it is on the house. We will just take it out of next summer's pay." Betty laughed as she walked into the kitchen.

"So they must really like you here." Myrcella said as they finally sat down and they were alone. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

"What can I say, I am a lovable guy?" He ran his thumb across her knuckles.

They stayed looking into each other's eyes. She decided it was time to run her foot up his leg and tried to flirt with him without saying a word. She was not sure if it was working, but she hoped that it was.

"Here you go dears. The world's best fish and chips." Betty said startling the couple.

They thanked her and started to eat the food.

"These really are the best fish and chips in the world. I love them." Myrcella said as they ate. "It was well worth the numb ass. And this town, this place is perfect. I never want to leave."

"Good. After this we should go down to the beach and watch the sunset. There is a cove that I know about three miles from here. It has a very nice view." Aegon said.

They finished their meal and Aegon and Myrcella got hugs from Betty.

"It was so lovely to meet you dear. I can tell that you make this boy happy. Keep it up sweet heart." Betty whispered in Myrcellas ear as they hugged.

"I will. For as long as I can." Myrcella whispered back.

There was still time before the sun would start to set. Myrcella convinced him to show her around thru place. Aegon showed her around. They stopped in at the bakery and ordered desert and coffee in a sealed container so it wouldn't spill, again on the house. The grandmother like lady said it would be ready in ten minutes. The old lady appeared to be one of his admirers as well. He said it was something about him having saved a cat on the roof. They passed a sappy tourist trap and she pulled him in.

They had shells and bottles of decorated sands. She looked at some of the silver rings that were sold in all gift stores. One that she really liked was five bands woven together. It was lovely and she did like it. But her attention was drawn from the rings to silly stuffed animals. Her eyes found a plush dragon.

"My mother would only let me have lion stuffed animals. I asked for bears, horses even a dog once. She never gave in." Myrcella said out loud to nobody in particular.

"I'm sorry Cella. Hey why don't you go get out desert orders and I will meet you at the bike. I need to use the bathroom." Aegon told her as he walked to the door marked Men's.

She walked down the quiet street to the bakery and collected their goodies and walked over to the bike. The sky was just starting to turn colors and she relaxed against it like she owned the thing. She was thinking of where to put the stuff for desert when Aegon came walking up. He smiled at her, took the goodies and put it and a small bag into a side bag of tone mike.

"Seems like we are just going to make it. Hop on beautiful. We got a sunset to watch." He gave her one of his devastating smiles that made her weak in the knees and lose the ability to talk. All she could was nod her head.

They got back on to the bike and drove to the cove. Aegon had been right, the view was spectacular and the sun was just kissing the horizon when they arrived. They got off the bike and Aegon collected the bags from the saddle bag. He took her hand and walked hand to the beach and sat down with their backs against a log.

He dug out the deserts. She took cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting. She took her first bite and the heavenly taste exploded in her mouth. It was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. It was sweet from the sugar, but the dried fruit inside it made it tangy as well. Aegon had gone for a brownie and was eating it with as much enthusiasm as she was eating her. By the time they were done the sun has met the horizon and the sky was all pinks and peach and blues.

"Cella there is something that I have wanted to do all day." He grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

His mouth found her neck, nit the place that she expected to have his lips touch her first, but they sent of heat all over her body and made her want to explode. She could not stand it another moment. She pulled back and forced his lips to hers and devoured him with her mouth. She let their tongues dance within her mouth. Her arousal was growing by the moment, and from her position sitting on top of him she knew that he was getting more worked up the deeper they kissed and the more he molded his hand to her chest.

She was moaning into him as he slid his hand into her bra and snagged her nipple with his fingers. He flipped his thumb across it. Myrcella started to writhe above him as he continued to work on her breast. With every swipe of his thumb she danced above him with small circular on his lap.

"You are going to have to stop moving if you don't want to end up having sex here in the sand." He panted.

"Well then stop playing with my nipples? It feels so good, and I almost don't care about the sand." She panted in reply.

"I can't. They call to me." He said in a harsh voice and just to prove a point he worked them again sending her dancing again. She focused her breathing and rested her forehead against his, smiling at him.

"Then we are at an impasse." Her eyes sparkled and she kissed his nose.

"Trust you to use a big word when I am so worked up I can barely see straight." He growled.

She sat on his lap and giggled.

"It is getting late and the sun is almost down we should get going back to town. God I don't want to, but we have to go." Aegon said his voice full of regret.

"I don't want to go back. Life is shit back there." She pressed her head to his neck trying to hide.

"Then come back to my house tonight." Aegon whispered.

Myrcella sat there in the lap of a man that she was greatly attracted to and knew that she really wanted to go home with him. She found herself saying something completely different.

"I have to go home. My mother would send the police after me. I really do not want to see my boyfriend arrested." She got off his lap and stood there waiting for him to get up too. She held out her hand and he took it and they walked to the bike.

They drove home and it only took half an hour to get back to the city. She was slightly confused at how that had worked out. So she asked him when they pulled into her driveway.

"I took the scenic way. I just wanted to have you pressed against me." He smiled at her.

"Well I liked the drive. The date was amazing. Perfect even. I never wanted to leave there. What's the town called? I didn't see signs." She asked, trying to prolong the moment until she had to leave him.

"Its called Storms End. Apparently at one time my family lived there. But that was long ago." A dark cloud flashed over his face, but it diapered almost as soon as it appeared. "I have something for you."

She looked at him and didn't know weather to be happy or not. Gifts in her family were bribes. She couldn't remember ever receiving one just because.

"Aegon, you didn't have to." She said.

"I know. I wanted to." He reached into the bag and took out the bag she had seen him with earlier. He handed it to her. She opened it like a kid at Christmas. Inside was the dragon stuffed animal and on its neck was a chain with the ring she had also been looking at.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was speechless. She looked up into his eyes and the first tear fell.

"Oh gods, Cellar, I didn't mean to upset you." He quickly crushed her into his arms and she started to goggle.

"I'm not upset. I'm happy. This is the best gift I have ever received. It's a perfect way to remember this day." She said against his chest.

Gendry

He woke up on Sunday with a nasty taste in his mouth and a head full of bees. He cracked opened his eyes and it felt like there was someone rubbing sand paper over them. He had a blurry idea of what had happened to him the night before. He knew that it involved a bottle of liquor and Sandor Clegane. The rest was a blur.

He did remember going to the beach and playing his guitar. Sander had found him and they got to talking. They had left the beach, went to his house, got the bottles and went to a parcel of land that Sandor's family owned. They turned up some music and started to drink. That's all he remembered.

If someone would have asked him of that was how he thought he would be spending a Saturday night he never in a million years have said that he would have spent it drinking with Sandor Clegane. But that is indeed how he spent that night. He stumbled out of his car and saw Sandor doing the same thing. They grunted in greeting.

They had sat on the hoods of their cars and talked about Arya and Sansa. He felt like this had been covered last night but he wasn't sure. They were both hopelessly hooked on the Stark sisters and that there was nothing that they wouldn't do to make them happen. He didn't really remember what had happened after they had drank the bottles but he did remember talking about calling Arya. She knew that she was on a date but she was supposed to be his girl.

That was the last thing that he sort of remembered. He wanted to check his phone thinking he had sent her a simple text. He was not prepaid for the five text messages from Hot Pie.

_Arya said that you called her last night. You having a good time? – Hot Pie_

_Who is this friend that you are with? –Hot Pie_

_So you want to ravage Arya. It is about time that you tell her that. –Hot Pie_

_Hey buddy are you dead? I do not want to go to a morgue and ID your body. Let me know if you need a DD. –Hot Pie_

_Okay heads up. Just heard from Arya and she is pissed. You and Sandor really? Watch your ass Monday and do not let her get you. –Hot Pie_

What the hell. Had he called Arya? Had Sandor called someone too? Had he called Sansa? He shot his mew pal a look. He was still parked in the woods. So he had been safe, he hadn't driven. Gendry slowly slid from the hood and looked around. The four bottles from the night before were empty, but he didn't think they had drunk them all. Gods he felt sick.

He had actually called her. What had he said? She had no idea what had happened. He was screwed. So fucking screwed.

Sandor was sitting in his car with his phone to his ear. Gendry looked at the time and saw to was two thirty in the afternoon. He rubbed his eyes and decided that he should call Hot Pie.

"Gendry you're alive. I was going to come looking for you. Where are you? Do you need a ride buddy?" Hot Pies voice was loud and he felt like he was being screamed at.

"Can you not yell at me Hot Pie? My head feels like it is going to split in two." Gendry said closing his eyes against the sun and the sound of Hot Pies voice.

"So you did get drunk. Do you remember calling Arya?" Hot Pie laughed.

"No I do not remember doing that." Gendry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What did I say?"

"That you wanted to do the dirty with her. You didn't use those words, but that is pretty much what it all boiled down to. Oh and you called her a cock tease and that she was stupid as well. Then Sandor apparently called Sansa and told her the same thing. What were you two doing together? Having a date or something?" Hot Pie said.

"We sort of ran into each other. Things went from there to sharing a bottle or more of booze in the woods. I guess we got to talking and we ended up not thinking." Gendry said.

"As long as nothing _happened _between the two of you then it is cool that you found someone that understands what is happening with your love life." Hot Pie said in a cheery voice. "But him being your new best friend I do take offence to that, and I know that Aegon might as well if he heard that."

"He is not my new best friend. We just had a _fling_. God that sounds so gay. That is not what I meant to say. We had a good time. That isn't right either. We just got drunk and bitched about girls together. That is all." Gendry told Hot Pie.

"Don't worry; I know that you didn't mean anything like that buddy. But like I said I am glad that you found someone who knows what you feel like now." Hot Pie tried to reassure his friend.

"That is nice Hot Pie. Thank you for your confidence. I better go. I have to go home and wash my brain and get the tequila off me. If I stand to close to an open flame I would combust." He gave a small laugh then winced at how loud that it was to him.

"Get going then Gendry. And I was serious in that text about Monday. Watch out. Arya will be scratching out your eyes." Hot Pie hung up the phone and Gendry sat back against the side of his car.

He sat there and tried to think what he was going to do now. He knew that he had royally fucked up with Arya. Now he had to figure out what to do to fix it.

Sandor stumbled off of his car cussing at the sun. He looked down at Gendry sitting down on the ground and stumbles over to him and slid to sit beside him.

"I feel like shit. You look like shit." Sandor whispered.

"So do you. What happened last night? From what I can tell we drunk dialed the girls. I think that it was about two thirds of the way through something, maybe the second one? I don't remember" Gendry rubbed his face with his hands.

"That is what I was can remember. I think that I called Joffery a douche bag when I was talking to Sansa." Sandor laughed.

"That is about time there pal. He is. I know that we went over this, but what the hell is she doing with that prick?" Gendry asked chuckling.

"I don't know man. I wish I could have taken a swing at him, like you got." Sandor leaned back his head against the car. "This is a little awkward."

"Yeah. It is. We lost our spark. I guess what we had last night was a one night stand without the sex." Gendry said.

The two guys sat there and laughed. Gendry wanted to keep Sandor as a friend, he was a cool guy. They had a lot in common. More than just the Stark sisters. But that was not what was going to happen. They were in different worlds at school. They were in different social groups.

"I actually had fun last night." Gendry said.

"Me to. I had a good time as well. But I don't think that we will be doing it again. God it does sound like we did something more then get drunk and talk." Sandor said.

"We should be friends." Gendry said.

"We can't do that." Sandor looked at him.

"Yeah I know that. But come on, we had a good time last night. Christ, I sound like a chick." Gendry rubbed his hands on his face.

"We both do. We should go. I need some food and a shower." Sandor stood and offered his hand to Gendry.

"Is this the part where we hug?" Gendry asked.

"After everything I think that would be too gay." Sandor called over his shoulder on the way to his car.

Gendry got in his and drove home. He wanted to call Arya, but needed to shower and eat first. God he was stupid.

Sansa

She didn't think that getting back with Joffery would cause so many waves in her house. She was getting the cold shoulder from Bran and Arya was completely ignoring her. She had gotten an angry email from Jon. And she even got a call from Robb.

"Sansa what are you thinking? Arya and Jon have both called and told me what that Joffery guy is like." Robb demanded.

"How does Jon know anything? He has not met him." Sansa said defending herself.

"He has talked to Arya and Bran both. When have you ever known Bran to lie about something like this?" Robb shot back.

"They do not know Joffery. None of them do. Robb, he is a good guy, most of the time." Sansa tried to defend her boyfriend, but even she knew that her voice lacked conviction.

"Is it true that he cheated on you? That Arya saw him in the act? Can you deny that?" Robb asked his voice rising in anger.

"He was drunk. The girl did sort of look like me. He could have been mistaken. He said that he was getting some pot from her that is all. He has been under a lot of stress lately." She lied feeling horrible for lying to her brother.

"So he is a drunk and a drug addict? That is the guy that you want to date?" Robb yelled at her.

"He is not a drunk or a drug addict. You experimented with alcohol in high school and don't try to tell me that you did not try pot." She snapped.

"What about him hitting people? Hitting his younger brother and sister like they are his personal punching bags, what about that?" Robb raged into the phone at her.

"That is hearsay. I do not believe that he would do that. He has never shown me anything except kindness and compassion Robb. I think that I am good for him and he is good to me. I really like him Robb. Why can no one seem to understand that?" She sobbed into the phone, she started crying as all the lies came out her mouth as she was talking to her beloved brother.

"Okay Sans don't cry. I am sorry. I didn't realize that this might not be easy for you. You are right it is your life. You can be with whoever you want." Robb tried to sooth her. Robb had never liked it when his sister cried.

"Robb, I just can't break it off with him. Everyone thinks he is a saint. Everyone thinks he is perfect. I just don't know what to do." She said into the phone, feeling guilty for telling him the truth.

"Sansa do you really like him? Or is there someone else. Jon mentioned that there might be someone else that you might like." Robb asked.

"There is no one." She lied yet again.

She could not tell him that she felt revulsion when she was with Joffery. Or that she got butterflies whenever she was with Sandor. She didn't know what to do about his phone call last night. Or how pleased it had made her feel when he said he wanted her. She knew it was dumb but she needed advise.

"Robb what does it mean when a guy calls you when he is drunk?" She asked for clarity.

"Who called you drunk?" Robb was acting all big brother on her again.

"My friend Sandor. He is the person that has shown me around here and helped me catch up when I was behind. He is just a friend." She hoped that she sounded convincing.

"Well it can either mean that he wants a booty call or he just wanted to get something off his chest. What did he say?" Robb had a smirk on his face, she knew that much about her brother. He was a horrible gossip.

"He called me his "little vixen", and that he thinks that I am a fool." She laughed.

"He sounds like he likes you. Is there anything going on between you?" Robb the gossip was rearing his head. He was minoring in journalism; it was in his nature to find out a good story.

"He is my best friend Robb. But I think I might have broken it off with him." Sansa confessed.

"What do you mean you broke it off with him?" Robb asked clearly confused.

"He knew about what Joffery was up to the other night and didn't tell me. I sort of flipped out on him." Sansa felt her cheeks grow warm. She felt foolish saying things that way.

"That was stupid Sansa. He did nothing wrong. And you told him that you were not going to be friends with him anymore over something that was not in his control. He was doing the guy code thing. It is something that you won't understand. Give him another chance. He sounds like a good friend. And it sounds like you might need one." Robb advised.

"How do you know that I will need a friend?" Sansa asked confused.

"Arya is going to black list you for staying with "that filthy piece of shit" as she put it. You are not going to have a good time with her." Robb told her.

This was just what she needed. To have her sister mad at her. She knew what it was like to have Arya not liking her. They went a whole six months not talking when she was eight because Sansa had gotten to go to some stupid sports show that Arya had wanted to go to. Then only way that they had gotten back to talking terms was they were forced to go camping for a weekend with their father. He had forced them to talk to each other.

"You're right, I will need a friend. Thanks you Robb. I have to go. I have a paper to write." She lied again. If she didn't stop this soon every word out of her mouth would be a lie.

"Oh crap so do I. Okay I love you Sans." Robb said.

"I love you too Robb." They hung up the phone and she started to cry again. Her life was hopeless. She was in a pickle and there didn't seem to be away out of it yet. All she kept thinking was just a little longer; all she had to do was hold on just a little longer. She hoped her sanity could last that long.

Sandor

Sandor walked into his chem class Monday morning and saw Sansa sitting at their lab table waiting for him. He had ignored the calls that she had made him. He had not wanted to face her. He was embarrassed about what he had done. He had a fuzzy memory about what he has said and there was a nagging feeling that he had really stepped in it.

"Good morning Sandor. How are you feeling?" She kept her voice even and controlled.

"Fine thanks. How are you?" He tried to be equally polite and controlled.

"Fine. What did you do your paper on for lit class?" She was being very safe where their conversation was going.

"I have not done it yet." He lied. He had finished to last night.

"Oh." Sansa looked back to the front of the class.

"So what did you do this weekend?" He asked.

"Shopped and I went to the movies last night with Joffery. We saw some action movie. I really didn't enjoy it to much." Sansa said.

Sandor sat in his chair and started to flip into his notebook for the blank page to take notes in.

It was a very uncomfortable hour for Sandor. When the bell for the end of class rang they walked in silence side by side. He watched as Joffery swagger over to Sansa.

"Hello there beautiful. What are you doing with the Dog?" Joffery took Sansa's from around the waist.

"Good morning Joffery. Sandor and I have class together, remember?" Sansa said.

"Hound, I have something that I must talk to you about. Will you come with me?" Joffery said.

He left with Joffery as the made their way to Jofferys class.

"Sansa still hasn't given it up to me. I am getting a little angry. I thought that those earrings would have done the trick. God this is a nightmare. And she wanted to know why I went to some stranger for sex." Joffery leaned up against the wall of the hallway. "You know her pretty well don't you Hound?"

"I guess. I do have a few classes with her. Why?" Sandor did not like where things were going with this conversation.

"Well how do I get her to have sex with me?" Joffery asked angrily.

"I don't know. Really." Sandor did not want to have this conversation with Joffery at all.

"Well I want you to find out what it will take." Joffery demanded.

He could not for the life of him do what he was told. He could not do this to Sansa.

"I can't do that Joffery. You will just have to let her come to you in her own time." Sandor said.

"Her own time? I want things in the bag with her by the New Year." Joffery hissed. "Now find a way for that to happen or I will make things more miserable for you then they already are."

Joffery walked into his classroom leaving Sandor alone in the all but deserted hall. He could not do what Joffery wanted him to do this time. He was not going to find out a way to get her to sleep with that worm. So he had to lie to Joffery. He had to make sure that he did not destroy Sansa. That could not happen.

Sandor was late when he got to his next class and was chastised by the teacher. He took his seat next to Sansa and tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but his mind kept swinging back to what Joffery wanted. He didn't know what he was going to tell Joffery. He was going to have to find things that she did like and then tell Joffery the opposite of what it was that he found out.

He walked through school that day as if he was a zombie. He didn't pay attention to what was happening all day. Sansa even commented on it when they were in the cafeteria. He tried to laugh it off, saying that he was thinking about what to do on his paper for Lit class.

His mind went to what he had to do for Joffery. He knew that Sansa liked honesty, that much he knew for sure. He also knew that Joffery had no way of being an honest with anyone. He knew that she liked music and dancing. If he was the one dating her he would have taken her dancing or to a concert. He was surely not going to tell Joffery to do that. Then there was the fact that she liked fresh organic food and not that processed crap that Joffery ate. He was not going to tell him that either.

By the end of the day he had compiled a list of what Sansa liked and didn't like. He was going to find out more. One list things for that was for Joffery, the things that she didn't like. The other of things she did. He would do the things that she did like for her. This would be a great way to get Joffery and Sansa to split up. For the first time since Sansa and Joffery had started to date there was hope for Sandor yet.

Bran

Arya was not talking to Sansa, Sansa was still with a total dick and he was unable to think of a modern comedic piece for theater. And he guessed that he also was seeing things now. He still did not understand what was happening to him, but he knew that he was. Things at Blackwater proved it to him.

He was sitting at his computer looking up a scene to do for theater and he was not finding one that he liked. He had read about ten scenes and monologues and had not found one that he liked. He was looking up something that looked promising when a headache hit. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had been looking at the computer screen for to long. He leaned up and then felt the moisture splatter onto the back of his hand.

"Bran dear, it is time for the," Catelyn walked into the room and stopped midsentence. "Oh Bran. Your nose is bleeding. Lean your head back."

Catelyn rushed out to the hall and grabbed a tissue and hurried back to Brans room.

"Apply this to your nose. Oh Bran." She fussed over him like a hen would her chick.

"It is nothing mom. Just a nose bleed." Bran said with his head tipped back and the tissue on his nose.

"Are you feeling alright dear? Any headaches or anything like that?" Catelyn pressed her hands to his head.

"I have a headache, but I have been looking at the computer since I have got home. My eyes have been under a lot of strain." Bran sounded tired.

"I will make you an appointment to get your eyes checked. Let me check and see if you are still bleeding." She pulled the tissue away from his nose and it had stopped bleeding.

"Oh good it stopped. Family movie night is tonight. It is time to take a break from studying sweetheart."

"Alright. I'll be along in a moment. I just have to turn off everything here." Bran told his mother.

"Hurry up dear. Rickon cannot wait to start the movie and you know how he is when he picks the movie." Catelyn said as she left the room to get her other children.

Bran sat in his computer chair and let his head fall back completely. His head still pounded and he was worried that his nose would start bleeding again. He closed his eyes for a moment and then it hit him.

_He was behind the wheel of a car and it was speeding down a very curvy road. There was rain spattering on the windshield. He looked down at his hands and they were not his hands. They were feminine and the nails were painted a deep purple. He was Arya. There was something going on that was not right. There was an urgency in Arya to get to where she was going._

"_God damn it Sansa. What the hell were you thinking? I hope that you are okay. Hold on I am on my way."_

Bran came snapping back to reality. His headache was worse then it had been before and he still felt an urgency to protect his sister. He bolted from his chair and into the hall. He was so focused on finding either one of his sisters that he was not aware that one was right in front of him.

"Bran! Watch it!" Arya shouted.

"Arya you are okay! Thank god." He grabbed her shoulders and hugged her to him.

"Bran you are crushing me. I really can't breathe Bran." Arya wheezed.

Bran was so shaken by the feelings that last vision had given him that he almost blurted out that he had _seen_ Arya going to Sansa's rescue.

"Sorry Arya. I am just so happy to see you." He said.

"I just saw you, like three hours ago." Arya scoffed.

"You are right. Hey have you seen Sansa?"

"No." Arya walked away to go down the stairs to watch the family movie.

Bran back tracked to his room and grabbed his phone off his desk and punched in a text for Jojen

_Happened again. Saw something. Have to go do family movie night. Will tell you more about what is going on later.-Bran_

Arya

She had planned on being angry with Gendry all day, all week, all month, for the rest of her life, but he had been in the shop with the sander working on her car. She just stood there and watched him work her car and she was surprised. She knew that he hated sanding. She walked to her cubby and saw that there was a box of chocolates and a rose in it, as well as a new set of socket wrenches. There was a note with the wrenches from Gendry.

_-Arya I am so sorry that I was such a jackass this weekend. I was drunk and not thinking. I am so very sorry that I made such a fool of myself. Please forgive me. I will do anything to get you to forgive me. I am here to be your slave._

_Gendry_

Arya had walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He had yelped and dropped the sander on his foot. He had spun around and looked her in the eye.

"Arya I am so sorry! I had had way to much to drink and I was jealous that you were on a date and I acted like a fool. I have no claim on you and I know that you are confused and that me being a jerk like that doesn't make things easy for you. I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?" Gendry babbled and apologized at the same time.

Arya thought that it was cute and endearing. He was so cute, trying to get her to understand that he was sorry. She felt her steely determination falter and turn to dust.

"It is okay you big stupid head. I forgive you. Just don't do it again." She said as she walked over and picked up the sander.

Then things had gone back to the way that they always had been. They joked and worked and flirted. She kept looking over at him and every time he was looking at her. She had never really taken the time to look at him. She had seen his body and his eyes, but she never really looked at him. He was so much more then what she had first seen. She was so much more then just a good body and nice hair and amazing eyes. He was more then that. He was kind and sweet and tender. That was what she saw now when she looked at him. She knew him and the more that she knew the more she could see herself being with him.

But that morning in her art class Jaqen had been good looking and sweet and funny as well. Things were getting complicated and more then she had expected. She was going to take Jon's advice and let him and her other two older brothers meet them and let them give her their input. They were her brothers and would never steer her wrong in the past. She was so happy that Christmas break was two weeks away.

She walked into the lunch room and she saw Jaqen. She waved to him and he walked over to her.

"Lovely girl I have come to eat lunch with you today. Do you want to accept my invitation? Your friends can come too." He quickly added as he noticed Myrcella and Aegon walk her way.

"That would be great but we have four others that we usually eat lunch with. Why don't you eat with us?" She asked looking over her shoulder at their table.

"I can come with you to your table." Jaqen fallowed Arya to her table and she noticed right away that he and Gendry were not happy to be eating with each other. She just realized that this probably was not the right thing to do.

They sat there and did not say much to each other. No one spoke much. It was a very uncomfortable lunch for everyone at the table. Arya tried her best to keep things running smoothly. But she could not seem to stop Gendry and Jaqen from glairing daggers at each other when they did not think that she was looking.

When the bell rang for the end of lunch she stood and walked to her class. Jaqen and Gendry both tried to walk her to class. She was saved by Myrcella.

"Sorry guys but I need Arya. We have some girl stuff to talk about real fast." Myrcella slipped her arm in Arya's.

"Thank you so very much. They looked like they were going to rip each other apart." Arya said.

"Well I do have things to talk to you about. But that can wait. You haven't told me about either of your dates this weekend. So spill. We have a biology paper to research and we will be in the library and we will be able to talk then." Myrcella led her to the library.

"They were both great. I had a great time with both of them. I just don't know how to choose. So my brothers are going to meet them both and they are going to tell me what they think." Arya said simply.

"So you give your brothers the power over your love life? That is very foolish. You know that I vote for Gendry. I know that Jaqen is great, but Gendry is perfect for you." Myrcella said.

"They both are really. You really don't know Jaqen. If you got to know him you would see that too. I just do not know. I need more time."

"We all do. But for now lets study. I would love to talk boys all day but this paper is really kicking my butt." Myrcella said. Arya smiled at her friend. She threw herself into writing the best paper she ever wrote. If she didn't figure things out soon she would have perfect grades.

**A/N It seems like it has been ages since my last update. Sorry its taken this long. I didn't do much, just added some for Myrcella. Editing has made me realize how much I want her story to be told better. I hope you like the it. Let me know! **


	17. Southern Chritmas

**A:N Thanks for letting me know that something happened when I uploaded the chapter last night. I fixed the problem!**

Jon

Christmas break came and he found himself on a plane flying down to where his family was. He was sad to be not having Christmas at home, all the Starks were. It was the first time that he had been away from Winterfell for any holiday. But on the bright side he got to see his family. What he was not happy about was that he was on a commercial plane in economy, wedged between Robb and Theon. All Theon had done when they got their tickets from his father was bitch.

"Why do we have to fly with all these people when they got a privet plane to fly down South?" Theon had complained over and over again.

"The Baratheon's sent the plane; father had nothing to do with that. You know that Theon. Dad would have taken a plane just like this with everyone else. Now will you shut your damn mouth? Unlike you I have studying to do." Jon snapped.

"Only you would decide to become a lawyer." Robb laughed as he read his book from the other side of Jon.

"We all can't get business degrees Robb. I won't be getting dads company, but someone will need to be there to bail your ass out of trouble when you step on it when you get to be in the driver's seat." Jon said, nudging his brother in the ribs.

"Hey that is not cool. My turn at the company will go done in history as the greatest in history. No more doom and gloom. Read your book." Robb said as he settled down into his seat. Two hours of the flight to go.

They all lapsed in to silence. The plane touched down and they departed to find their family. All three young men walked as fast as they could through the crowded and congested airport. Jon was so eager to see his family that he was almost running when he saw them all waiting for them on the other side of the security point. He started laughing when he saw the sign that Rickon and Arya were holding.

**_Stark Family Here! Calling the Lost Sons!_**

When Arya saw her brothers she started to run to Jon. He dropped his bag and he opened his arms and they hugged one another. Sansa was getting a bear hug from Robb and Rickon had his arms around Robb's legs. Theon had his arm around Brans shoulders and they were talking and laughing. The parent Starks were watching their brood make a fuss over each other.

"Oh Jon. Things are so crazy here, but they will get better now that my big scary brother is here." Arya squeezed him till he felt like he could not breathe.

"Alright there Little Wolf. Let me go. You have two other brothers to greet, and there are five other members of the family that I have to see. We will talk soon really." Jon untangled his fierce younger sister from his person. He saw the need in her eye to talk to him and just be around him.

Bran broke away from Theon and Arya took Brans place to say hi to Theon leaving Jon.

"Bran I think you are taller." Jon teased as he hugged him.

"And you have gotten old. I think there is grey in your black hair."

"That was a low blow. Is there really grey in my hair?" Jon asked.

"No. But I think mine might be. Arya and Sansa are still not talking and dad is not having an easy go here. He pretends when he thinks we aren't watching, but I can see him suffering here. You should talk to him Jon." Bran said to him.

"You always were the one who watched things more then others. I will try to talk to father." Jon sighed.

He had two weeks here and he had a large list of people that he "had" to talk to. He had to talk to Arya's two suitors, Sansa's boyfriend, Arya and Sansa at the same time, a law firm here to intern with over the summer and now his father. He was not going to have long to take a vacation at all. He had two days to see the sights. That was it. All his time was taken up by business. Oh well, at least he had his family.

He said hello to his mother and father and his two other siblings. They all walked out to where the cars were parked. Robb and Rickon got into Sansa's shiny red car, the rest piled into the SUV that his father was driving. They drove in the down town area. Jon was amazed that there was so much dirt around. There was dirt in the North, but it was a different kind of dirt. It was a earthy dirt. Big city dirt was just filth. How was he going to spend a whole summer down here?

They pulled up to the new home of the Starks. They had decorated the house with blue and white lights and strings of evergreen plants everywhere. It looked very festive, the only thing missing was the snow.

"Wow the house looks great." Theon stood looking out at the house from the car as they pulled up. "Do we get our own rooms here or are we stuck in the guest rooms?"

"Do you only think about yourself Theon?" Jon asked.

"You know me, I do." He gave a smile that was both greasy and truthful. Theon sure loved to get on everyone nerves, but he was to funny no one really mi deed his smart mouth.

"That is enough boys. You are not children anymore, so stop acting like it." Catelyn said smiling at her two adopted sons.

"Sorry mother. I will shut up now." Jon said hanging his head, glancing over at Theon. They both were acting like they were eleven again.

They made it into the house and it was also decorated. He knew that there was going to be a holiday party at the house tomorrow and that there were going to be dozens of people here.

"Come on boys I will show you to your rooms." Catelyn walked up the stairs. They followed behind like ducklings following their mother. Just because they were grown men that didn't mean their mother didn't make them feel like five year olds. "Theon this is your room. Now you can either share with Robb or have a room to yourself."

"I can share. I was only joking about the guest room thing." Theon had the grace to blush and look sheepish.

"Well I will let Robb pick where he wants to go. He needed to talk to your father on an important matter, he will be along shortly. Come on Jon. I have you in the room on the side of Arya's."

He followed his mom down the hall and was let into his room.

"It looks like it was made for me. It looks just like my room back home." Jon said amazed.

"We had rooms made for all you boys here in the house. I was just giving Theon a tough time." Catelyn said with a smile on her lips. "How have you been holding up dear?"

"Good. School is tough, but I knew that it was going to be when I decided to be a lawyer." Jon sat on the bed and smiled up at the woman that had raised him.

"Your mom would have been proud of you. I know Ned tells you that all the time, but it is true." She gave Jon a kiss on the forehead and left him to settle in.

Jon looked around his room and saw pictures of him and the other kids growing up. The one that got him was of his biological mother, her belly large with him, and her hand touching it lovingly. She had a large smile on her face as she gazed at her belly. Jon had never seen this picture before and took it off the night stand and sat down heavily on his bed.

"She was so happy when she found out about you Jon. She loved you so very much." Ned's soft voice floated over to him as he leaned in the doorway.

"I wish that I knew her. Arya looks so much like her. They could be twins." Jon laughed wiping the tears off his cheeks and his eyes. He loved his biological uncle and his wife who had adopted him as a babe when his mother died of an infection after a difficult birth. He used to dream of her voice telling him she loved him. He asked his father if she had ever seen him. Ned told him long enough to say she loved him. Now seeing this picture he wished he remembered her better.

"They could be the same person. I called her Little Wolf just like you call Arya. I know that I have offered you to tell you anything that you want to know about her, the offer is still there." Ned walked out of the room.

Jon sat thinking of what he had done in his life. Since he was old enough he had looked into his mother. She was a vibrant young woman by all accounts. From everything he had placed together she had been in collage, in a semiserious relationship with Robert Baratheon. She had wanted to see the world and he opted to stay behind. The break up was on good terms.

Lyanna, his biological mother had gone backpacking and all records of her stopped until she showed up at Winterfell pregnant. To this day he didn't know who had fathered him, she never said and he could find no records of it either. She had had a good pregnancy. He had looked over the medical reports with his own eyes. She had an easy labor with him, but then she became sick. The records said she held on for three weeks, but her small body had not held out.

That is how he came to be the son of his aunt and uncle. He loved them dearly, and his brothers and sisters. He never lived without love in his life. Some days he was sad, but others he was content with his family. Looking down at this picture he saw Arya in his mother's face. He wanted to protect his sister. It was his small way of protecting what was left of his mother's memory.

He would help Arya out of her dilemma. He wanted to keep her close in the family, so she could be protected. He didn't want her to ever feel the need to run away like his mother had. He had to keep her home at all cost. He would pick the boy that held the least threat to his family.

Myrcella

The Baratheon family was in the limo driving to the Stark holiday party. In the classic Baratheon fashion her parents had had an argument. It was heated and almost came to blows. Her mother was the aggressor this time. Her father had said that Aegon could come with them, but her mother had said no, in not so nice of terms. Cerise did not want her precious son to be with that violent jerk.

Myrcella had felt close to tears and her father had noticed. He had pulled her aside and told her to have Aegon meet them at the party. Her father had been acting differently ever since he had started working with Ned Stark. He still drank like a fish, but he was not so indifferent to what happened in the house. He did not tolerate Joffery from hitting anyone. He did not allow Cersie to bad mouth people the way she usually did. And they had to eat together as a family twice a week. She had started to have a relationship with her father for the first time in her life and she knew that it was all Ned Starks doing.

She had decided to wear the present Aegon had given to her on their first real date. When her mother had seen it she said it was low class and beneath her daughter to wear such trash. When she demanded to know where Myrcella had gotten such cheap a trinket she had admitted it was a gift from Aegon. Cersie had almost ripped it from her neck. Her father had again stepped in the way saying it was a generous gift, appropriate for a girl her age to receive from a boyfriend. The issue had been dropped and they pulled up to the Starks house Winterfell 2.0.

They all got out of the car and went into the house. Joffery went right to Sansa. She was in another red dress, this time with silver threaded into it. It was very festive. She saw Aegon off to the side of the room talking to Arya. As soon as they saw her they waved to her and she walked over.

"I am so sorry that you were not able to come with us honey. My mom went ballistic." Myrcella said walking up and giving Aegon a kiss on the lips.

"It is okay sweets. I understand. I would not have wanted to be in a car with your brother, even if they paid me." Aegon laughed slinging his arm around her waist giving someone the classic stink eye over Myrcellas head. "I love you wearing my gift tonight. Just wait for my Christmas present. Its going to blow your socks off." He whispered in her ear as he kissed her neck. Butterflies flooded her body. She wanted to think like a person, not someone who wanted to jump her boyfriend at a large party.

"So when will we get to meet your brothers?" Myrcella asked Arya after she was finished giving her boyfriend googley eyes.

"Well they will be around somewhere. They are probably getting introduced to your parents." Arya scanned the room.

Myrcella looked around as well. There were less people at the Starks party then there were at one of her families' parties, she preferred it this way.

"So Arya, did you invite anyone else here tonight?" Myrcella tried to be smooth when she asked, but she knew that Arya probably knew that she was hinting to whether or not she had asked Gendry to the party, and Jaqen for that matter.

The last time Arya had talked about her love life with Myrcella Arya had said that she could not just pick Gendry because all her friends liked Gendry best. So Myrcella had tried to get to know Jaqen as well. And she understood where Arya's confusion came from. He was a super nice guy. He was different then Gendry, that is for sure. He liked the arts and was a man of the world. Not of the same class of the rich, like Arya and herself, but he knew a lot of their world and wasn't intimidated by it all. She gave him points for that.

Jaqen was tall and lanky but full of muscles. He was very funny, clever and kind. He was able to think of things to keep people talking. Hell if Myrcella had not been so happy with Aegon she would have started to like him. Gendry was completely manly, but Jaqen was suave in ways that Gendry would never be.

"No I did not. I have not decided anything yet and I did not think that a family party was the best place to pick." Arya said as she continued to look around the room.

"Well sister dear you would be wrong on that account. I took the liberty of inviting both of your beaus and they should be here any minute. Hello I am Jon, and you must be Myrcella and Aegon." A tall dark and extremely sexy young man said coming up behind Arya and put his hand on her shoulder.

Myrcella tore her eyes from Jon Stark and looked at Arya as she had started to make a strange choking sound. Jon started whacking her on the back. Arya's face went from red to white to red again.

"Hi Jon. It is nice to meet you." Aegon stuck out his hand to shake with Jon's. "Now I know where Arya gets her tact from. It must be genetic."

"It must be. Our father is the same way. We are all Stark, us to. Bran has it a little, but it is not as strong in him." Jon said.

"Arya are you okay?" Myrcella asked. Her friend's eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. Myrcella looked behind her at the door and saw what was causing her friend to freak.

There in the doorway of the Starks house was Gendry and Jaqen. They were together and looking like they both wanted to take a swing at each other.

"Oh it looks like my guests have arrived. I am going to go get Robb and Theon. We will see you around Little Wolf." Jon mussed up Aryas hair and walked away from them.

"Oh this is so going to be good. I'm calling Thoros." Aegon pulled out his phone and started to call his friends.

"Arya are you okay? Arya are you alright?" Myrcella asked again. She was concerned for her friend. The usual verbal Arya Stark stood there silent. Myrcella didn't know weather to shekel her or slap her.

Arya just stood there and was acting like she was catatonic. She poked her friend in the face and there was no reaction at all. Myrcella decided it was time to do something drastic. She used her fingertips and slapped her friend softly in the face. Alertness came into her eyes and she swallows thickly before she spoke.

"This is so not good."

Sansa

She had had a very difficult few weeks. Her sister was not talking to her, her boyfriend was really getting on her nerves and her best friend was turning out to be to perfect for words. But somehow with all this going on she still managed to cheer, do gymnastics and join a number of other clubs, while keeping her 3.79 GPA. Her plan seemed to be working really well. She was now the social dealing of King's Landing High.

Everyone came to her foe passion advice, dating tips and just to talk. She had somehow gotten the sympathetic crowd who thought Jeff was a Dick. They wanted her to dump him and supported her if she did. This was more then she had hoped for. Life was going just the way she wanted, minus a dumb boyfriend.

Joffery was starting to show public disfavor of her and she had heard that no one understood why. She was such a good person. When Margaery had told her that she had felt so happy. Things were working out super well. She figured that Joffery would keep at the whole relationship thing for another month tops. And by then she would not need him anymore. She would be able to stand on her own two feet in the popularity arena of Kings Landing and be a serious contender for the crown.

She was so happy to have her brother's home for Christmas. They were the things that she felt were missing in the family. The older boys were always the bridge between her and the other kids. But seeing them made her moss life at home more then she expected. Like the family adventure getting their own tree from the wilderness that surrounded the Stark family home. How they would all bundle up in warm clothes and hop onto the snow mobiles and spend the whole day looking for the perfect family tree. Then the snowball fights. It was the one non-lady like activity that she loved to participate in. She was the best in the family at dodging the flying balls of snow that by the end of the fight she was the only one not covered in white.

Things were different in the South. It was the first time that she could remember that they had to pay for a tree. Arya had had a fit when their father had said that they had to buy one. They had shared a moment of disgust for Southern people, but then Arya had remembered that she was not talking or being nice to Sansa and walked away from her.

Sansa could not understand why Arya was taking her not breaking up with Joffery so hard. It was not like she was dating a murder and a drug dealer. But from where her sister was standing she probably was.

At the Christmas party that her parents were having for all the people that they had met in the South Sansa was so happy that Robb would be there.

She had been standing in the entry way talking to Robb when the Baratheons arrived. Joffery had come straight up to her and kissed her while she was in midword with Robb.

"Sansa you look amazing." Joffery interrupted. "And who is this that you are talking to."

She could tell that he felt threatened by Robb and she thought that he should feel like that, he was devastatingly handsom, but not over her brother.

"Joffery this is my older brother Robb. Robb this is my boyfriend Joffery." She introduced them. Joffery looked relieved and Robb looked sad and disgusted.

"Nice to meet you Robb. Would it be to much to ask if I could steal your enchanting sister away? I have a present that I want to give her." Joffery put on a show of weakness and had even asked permission before dragging her away. She was shocked to see this from him.

But then he ruined it. Joffery didn't even wait for a response before he started to drag Sansa up the stairs. She looked at her brother over her shoulder and saw that he was looking on in shock and disbelief. She had wanted to have her brother talk a little more with Joffery. She should have known that Joffery did not want to talk to her brother.

"Where are we going Joffery? This part of the house is closed to guests." Sansa said as she was dragged along the hallway.

"I am not a guest, and I have never seen your bedroom. I do have a present for you. I wanted to give it to you without people around." Joffery looked around the hall. "Which one is yours?"

She nodded to her room on the right of them. He walked into her room without as much as an "is it okay?" He walked in as if he owned the place.

"This is nice, slightly overly feminine, but nice." Joffery said as he picked up a pink pillow on her bed.

"Thank you Joffery. I have something for you too." Sansa went to her closet and pulled out a small box from off the top of the stack. She inadvertently let her eye fall to the gift she had gotten Sandor and for the hundredth time wondered why she had not given it to him the last day of classes.

She walked the box over to Joffery. He opened it and saw the lion cufflinks that she had chosen for him inside.

"These are nice. Thanks. All my father lets me get are ones with a stupid stag on them. This is really one of the nicest gifts I have ever received." Joffery sat looking down at the gift. Sansa was stunned to realize that he truly meant what he was saying.

"You're welcome. When I saw them and they reminded me of you. I knew that you had to have them." She sat on the bed. He looked over at her and she knew that he was thinking something important.

"Well I got you this." He pulled a thin box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

She lifted the lid knowing that it was more jewelry. It was a necklace that matched the earrings that he had already given to her.

"Joffery this is perfect." She looked at it in the box then shut the lid and went to put it away with the earrings.

"I will be wearing these for the New Year's party that your parents are throwing. They will go great with my dress." She beamed, just like she knew he wanted her to.

She returned to Joffery and he stood up from the bed, wrapping his arms around her. He placed his forehead on hers and gave her a small quick kiss on her lips. He was being gentle and considerate.

"Let's get back to the party. People probably want to see us." Joffery lead Sansa to the door and they walked out of the room together.

Now she was more confused then ever. This Joffery was new a d she rather liked him. But the question she found herself asking was would it last?

Sandor

The Stark party was in full swing as he when he got there. He had come to the party at Sansa's insistence. He had not wanted to be involves a family party. He had no family really, so these things made him very uncomfortable. He sat in the car and sent a text to Sansa saying that he was outside the house.

_Oh great. I have a gift for you. Come on in. –Sansa._

Now he had to go in. He walked to the opened door and let himself in. It was smaller then he had imagined it would be. He was used to the parties that the Baratheons threw. He wandered in the house looking at all the people there. He was uncomfortable being there.

"Can I help you?" Someone asked tapping him on the shoulder.

"No, I am just looking for Sansa. We're friends, fro. School." Sandor said to a young man.

"You must be Sandor. It is nice to meet you. I'm Robb, Sansa's older brother. She says you are her best friend here." Robb leaned against the fireplace in the family room where they found themselves in.

"I guess you could say that. We have most of the same classes together. She is dating one of my buddies." Sandor said. He was starting to like this guy. He was straight forward and to the point.

"So you are friends with that excuse of a person? That is interesting. You strike me as a pretty normal guy. Why are you friends with him?" Robb asked. He had seemed to already have judged Joffery and bad not liked what he saw.

"We have been in the same class since we were little kids; he has been the QB for all the peewee teams that we have been on. It was never really a choice; it was just sort of forced on me. His friendship I mean." Sandor found himself telling Robb.

"I get that. Why are you letting him date my sister?" Robb asked. He hit the nail on the head. He must have passed some unknown test. He had her brothers approval already.

"She is her own person. She is not someone that you can control. You should know that. She is your sister." Sandor said trying to defend himself.

"She sure is. Neither of them might like it but Sansa and Arya very much alike." Robb laughed. "Sansa went upstairs with Joffery. Something about presents. She should be down soon, or if not I will be going to get her." Robb started to walk away from Sandor. "It was nice meeting you. I can see why my sister is friends with you."

Sandor walked away from the family room and walked to the stairs. Sansa was looking around the hall. When she saw him she smiled and waved. He made his way to her side.

"Sandor, I am so happy to see you." Sansa smiled up at him.

"Good to see you too. Where is Joffery?" He looked around. Joffery was not there with her. He looked back to Sansa to make sure she was not hurt from her time with Joffery alone.

"He went to get us some drinks. He should be back shortly. I have your gift here with me." She handed him a festive bag.

He peered inside the bag and saw a book on astronomy and a small box inside the bag. He pulled out the box and opened it. It was a key chain with a piece of a rock on it. He looked up at Sansa confused.

"It is a piece of a star. Or that is what the guy at the store said. It reminded me of you and I had to get it. I have one too." Sansa blushed.

"Thanks so much. This stuff is great. I have something for you." He had felt foolish before, getting her this gift. But now he knew it was the right one.

He took out a pair of tickets for the observatory and handed them to her.

"I got these tickets for you. They can be used any time. They will close it down for you and whoever you decide to take." He had called a lot of favors to get these tickets. He had hoped he would be the one she used them with, but that was a secret hope

"This is amazing Sandor. How did you pull this off?" Sansa kept looking at the tickets in her hand.

"I volunteer there and they are doing me a favor. It's nothing." He just kept looking at the star key chain.

"Well you will just have to come with me. You went to all the trouble to get this all set up. You will be my plus one." She smiled up at him and his heart skipped a beat. She laid her hand on his arm and leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He could not believe that she had just kissed him. It wasn't like it was a kiss on the mouth, but it was more then he dreamed he would get.

"Um, I think I could do that. I see Joffery coming back. I think I am going to go before he sees me." Sandor turned and fled so he would not have to feel guilty about his so called friend's girlfriend kissing him.

He made it to the other end of the room and Robb came up beside him. He didn't say anything for a while, just stood there watching Sansa, like he was doing.

"You know I know my sister very well. She is not herself around that boy. But just then, with you, that was the Sansa I have always known. Whatever you do, keep up the good work. I like you, so I'm pulling for you mate." The older boy clasped his hand on his shoulder and walked away.

Sandor stood there digesting what Robb had said. Sansa's brother didn't like her boyfriend. Now much sway would that hold with her? He wished he knew, because he knew every day Joffery became more agitated that she hadn't had sex with him, and he was not a person to wait. Sandor felt in his stomach that Joffery would eventually get what he wanted, one way or another.

Gendry

Arya had invited him to the holiday party at her house. He was sure that she would not invite him. So when she sent him that text saying he should come to her house he had been over the moon. This meant that she still liked him, that there was still a chance.

But when he got to the house and got out of his car he had seen Jaqen get out of his car and start walking to the door as well he felt anger surge. Anger at Arya, Jaqen and himself. He should have known that she would have invited both of them that was just how she was.

"Gendry, nice to see you." Jaqen gave a fast nod of his head.

"Jaqen." Gendry did not nod his head. His hands were balled into fists and he was clenching his jaw so he did not say anything that he would regret.

They stood in the doorway looking over the gathering of the party. He was pleased to note that he was taller then Jaqen. It was something stupid to be pleased with, but the guy was close to Arya, to great. So he would take what he would get. He saw Arya by Aegon and Myrcella. There was an attractive guy standing beside her. He was even more annoyed. Then he just took a breath and realized that he must be her brother. He calmed down a little.

But the look on Arya's face was not happy; she looked like she was going to be sick. Was she coming down with something? He waved and Jaqen did as well. They turned and looked at each other. They glared at one another. When he looked back to Arya she was getting a small slap in the face by Myrcella and her brother was walking over to them.

"Good evening gents. I am Jon. I invited you to the party tonight. I used Arya's phone while she got ready. I hope you don't mind the subterfuge. I told Arya that I would meet you both, so I set up the opportunity. She would have dragged the affair on longer then needed. I decided to take the bull by the horns at it were. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand and Jaqen and Gendry stole a fast look at each other before both reaching for his hand.

Gendry got it first and introduced himself.

"I', Gendry Waters. Pleased to meet you Jon. Arya is always talking about you. I feel as if I know you already." He pumped the other man's hand, pleased he had said something truthful.

"I figured that you were Gendry." Jon said once he was done shaking his hand. "And it is nice to meet you both" He shook Jaqen's hand as well, but he didn't say a word. Not good. "Now if you would come in we can go into my fathers study and we could get to know each other, unless you would prefer to do this separately?"

"Do what exactly?" Gendry asked.

"The integration from a very protective older brother. It is the standard procedure to be able to get close to one of my sisters. I hope you don't mind. We Northerners are over protective to a fault." Jon smiled at them, but there was something in his eye he took this business seriously. "We will do this separately. I think that might be best. Jaqen since you are closer to the study why don't you come with me?" Jon said indicating Ned's study.

"Of course." Jaqen said in his tight lipped manner that he had when he was around people.

Gendry watched them walk away and shook his head trying to clear it. He wiped his now sweating hands on his pants and walked to where Aegon was standing. Myrcella and Arya had disappeared.

"Hey there pal. I saw you with Jon. Is he going to take you behind the house and beat you up for making out with his sister?" Aegon joked.

Gendry's face paled. Oh god's did he know about that? "I hope not. He just wants to get to know me. Do you know what the hell this is about?"

"Cella said something about Arya not being able to choose so she is going to let Jon pick for her." His friend said lightly, as if this happened all the time.

"Oh for shits sake! This is not cool man." Gendry rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"Look there is your best friend. Sandor over here!" Aegon shouted. He was clearly trying to distract him. It wasn't working.

Sandor made his way over to then holding on to the straps of a red gift bag with green stripes on it.

"Why do you have a gift bag?" Gendry asked.

"Gift from Sansa." He replied.

"What did she get you?" Aegon asked.

Sandor looked Aegon over and decided that just because he could make him squish him like a bug he would not. Gendry laughed quietly to himself.

"A book and a key chain." Sandor said in a clipped reply.

"That's not to bad, at least she got you something. Arya got Gendry an interrogation from her brothers." Aegon said watching as Gendry's face turned beet red.

"Good luck with that. I got questioned my Robb. He was nice, I guess." Sandor said looking over at Sansa and Joffery.

"So you got questioned? That makes me feel a little better. Do you want to know the best part? Jaqen is here too. He is getting asked his questions now. I don't get this. Her dad liked me, I think. Why does it matter if her bothers do?" Gendry let his temper show now while he could.

"Arya is different buddy." Aegon said with a shrug. "Look here comes My Cella." Gendry as Aegon's face lit up. He had just lost his best friend to the love bug. He looked at Sandor and he rolled their eyes.

"Hey Gendry, Sandor. Aegon I am not your My Cella." She greeted them after kissing Aegon and pulling his arm around her waist. "Arya wants to see you Gendry. She is in the kitchen." She looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. Whatever Arya to say he would have no hints.

Gendry walked to where Myrcella had nodded. He went in and found Arya sitting at a table in the back corner of the room.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Yes. I don't want you to feel bad. About my brother. He is just protective." She looked up at him.

"I hear that you want him to pick which one of us you want to date." Gendry sat down next to her at the table.

"Was it Aegon or Myrcella that told you that?" Arya sounded annoyed now.

"Aegon. He was the one who spilled the beans. Are you sure you need to have Jon choose?" Gendry asked.

"Gendry I really do like you. I do. We get along so well together and there is something there between us. I won't deny that. But there is something about Jaqen as well. I don't know who to choose." Arya whispered.

Gendry reached his hand over to her and held it.

"It is okay Arya. I know that you are having a hard time. I want to try to make things easy on you. Jaqen is in with Jon now. When he is done it will be my turn and I will get to be questioned. Any tips?" He asked.

She gave him a sad desperate smile and looked at him. Tears were welling up in her eyes and he felt something pull at his heart in a way that he had ever felt not before. He wanted to protect her, even from herself. He put his hand on her face and stroked her cheek.

"It is alright Arya. I won't make things harder at all for you. Really." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

They sat there for a long while just looking at one another. There were so many things he wanted to say. Mostly about how creepy Jaqen was, but he figured he could tell her brothers. They she would lessen to without getting angry.

"There you are Gendry. It is your turn." Jon said in a slight sing song tone of voice.

"I will see you later. Okay?" He kept his eyes on Arya's face.

She nodded once and then he went with Jon to the patio behind the kitchen.

"So Jon what do you want to know." Gendry asked.

"Blunt, straight to the point. I like that." Jon said. "What I want to know is do you like my sister or do you just want to use her, like Sansa's boyfriend is using her?" Jon was also blunt. A quilt he and his sister shared.

"I like her. She is to good for words. I can't even begin to tell you what it is about your sister that I like. It doesn't hurt that she knows how to take a car apart and put it back together again. I think that I have you to thank for that." Gendry said looking over at Jon.

"You are good for her. I think that if things were different you and I was have been friends." Jon said. "But that Jaqen is something that Arya is not used to. He is artistic and worldly. You don't seem like an idiot, I can see that. I know that you are smart. But he is different." Jon said.

Ge dry decided now was the time to tell him the truth. He took a deep breath and told Jon what happened at the party, after he kissed his sister.

"I don't want to say this, nut there is something not right, but there is something not right with Jaqen. He is obsessed with her. Almost to the scary point. He threatened me, once. He told me to watch my back. That he would have her, no matter what. I like your sister, deeply and truly. But I also want to protect her. From him. She's the kind of girl that doesn't see the bad in people until its to late. In never want to see her get to that point." He felt a weight come off his chest as he spoke. At least now of the concern makes its way to Arya it will be from someone she trusts.

"I got that vibe too. That's why I don't really like the guy. Keep up the good work Grundy. She really likes you." Jon smiled at him in the lights.

"Thanks for the pep talk." Gendry huffed kicking a rock down the path.

"I am just giving you an update on what you are up against." Jon said.

"So do I have a chance? I mean will you put a good word in for me?" Gendry asked Jon, trying to keep hope out of his voice.

"Yeah. And I am not going to grill you like I did Jaqen. My dad likes you, so I don't feel the need to badger you." Jon smiled. "So are you going to tell me about the present that you are helping Arya work on?"

"Are you kidding me? Your sister would have my hide if I told you about that." Gendry laughed. Jon laughed with him.

"We should get into the house. Come on. Robb and Theon want to meet you. Don't worry they will be nice." He cuffed him softly on the shoulder, already liking his odds. If Jon was this cool her other brothers had to be cool as well.

"Show me the way. Lets meet the others." He smiled brightly, knowing he had passed the first test.

The two young men walked into the house and started talking about cars.

Jaqen

Jaqen was not amused that Gendry was invited to the party or that Jon wanted to ask him questions. He went along with it because he knew that this was what Arya wanted. He went into the study with Jon and sat in the chair that Jon indicated. Two other young men were sitting there as well.

"Jaqen this is Robb and Theon." Jon nodded his head to the two others.

"Hello. You must be the other older brothers." Jaqen said.

"Yes we are." Theon said as he stood and poured himself a drink. "Would you like a drink Jaqen?"

"No thank you I do not drink." Jaqen said.

"That is good. I would not like my sister being with a drunk." Robb said.

"Keep these things to yourself Robb." Jon said. "This is about Arya not Sansa."

"That's right I can do that." Robb grumbled.

"So why do you want to date my sister?" Jon said.

"Because she makes me better. She makes my art better and my outlook on life as well." Jaqen said truthfully.

"So she's your muse? Can you still use her to make your art, without her being her boyfriend?" Jon asked.

"One of the people who buys my paintings thinks that my work would be better if she was just the object of my desire and not the cure." Jaqen laughed. At this point Jon had left, leaving the questioning to the other two.

He sat there and answered all the questions that they put to him. How many girlfriends had he had, how many girl had he slept with, was he a good student, what was his family life like. How would he treat Arya if they did end up dating? He felt like he was getting grilled by the police. When they got tired of asking all the questions they finally let him go. He stood and shook their hands and walked out of the room to find Arya.

He found her sitting at the kitchen table. She was looking at her hand. She looked breath taking in the pale light. She was in a black and silver dress with purple shoes under her chair. The dress was so tight that it showed off all her curves and made her look amazing. Her purple tipped hair was flipped up and showing.

"Hello there Lovely Girl. I just had an interesting chat with your brothers. My favorite question was from Theon. He asked what my preferred sexual position was. Jon punched him in the arm for that one. I didn't answer it." Jaqen said sitting down in the seat next to her.

Arya gave a halfhearted laugh and looked over at him.

"That sounds just like Theon." She gave a halfhearted laugh. He decided to change the subject.

"I have a painting for you. It is in my car. Its you your Christmas present. Would you like to come with me to get it?" He kept his voice ever, as if he was talking to a wild, but caged animal.

"Sure." She stood and started to walk out the kitchen. He walked with her to the front door and slipped out of it and they went to his jeep. He felt a slight trepidation about giving her the picture. It was the one that he had made of the North with the cabin. He had wrapped it in the brown paper and twine.

"Let's take this inside." Arya said. "I want to be able to see it."

He walked back with her to the house as she lugged a large painting with her.

"Here let me take that Arya." He tried to take the painting from her.

"I have it, thanks." She took it from him.

"All right." Jaqen said. He knew that she was in a mood and that it was something's that he just had to let her do.

They went into her fathers study. It was empty. He did not like this room, since it was where he was questioned. But he went with her into the room. She got the scissors off her fathers desk and cut the twine and unwrapped the paper. She looked at the painting.

"Oh Jaqen. This looks just like home. This is perfect. I love this. I wish that I could be there right now." Arya said touching the picture tender fingers.

"I am glad that you like it." He said coming behind her.

"I really like it." She said. "Thank you so much." She kissed him on the cheek and looked at the painting again. "We should get back out to the party. I should go say hi to my fathers guests." Arya walked out of the room in a trance.

He looked at the painting. He knew it was his best work yet. But all it got him was a kiss on the cheek and a dismissal. Arya must not be feeling well. That was it. He had half been erecting her to fall into his arms and profess her love for him. But her brothers had changed things. No matter. Je would have her in the end. One way or another.

Arya

She had stayed by Myrcellas side for the rest of the evening, much to Aegons annoyance. She was to ashamed at what her brothers had done. She had wanted Jon to talk to them, but she was not expecting then to do it here at the party. She had not invited either of them to the party for a reason. She was not ready to face Gendry or Jaqen. She had done everything she could to not be alone with them since her dates with them.

She knew that if she was alone for extended periods of time she would end up making out with whoever it was that she was with.

So when she saw them both in the doorway of the house she had felt that the world should open up and swallow her up whole. As soon as Jon had walked away she went into shock and she didn't even feel Myrcella poking her in the face. It wasn't until Myrcella gave her a small slap that she came to. It was like she was pulling herself up to the surface of the water.

"Arya are you okay?" Myrcella had asked.

"I don't know. Can we get out of here? I don't care if it is in the broom cupboard, I just don't think I can talk to either of them yet." Arya hated how her voice sounded so weak and girly.

"Of course. Come on Arya." Myrcella led her to the kitchen. Myrcella made her a cup of tea and sat her down at the table.

"What am I going to do Myrcella? I feel like a fool for asking my brothers to talk to Gendry and Jaqen. The last two weeks have been hard on me. I just wanted to know for sure that I was making the right choice. I am just so conflicted." She said with her hands wrapped around her mug of tea.

"If Aegon had not swept me off my feet I would have been pining away for Gendry for the rest of my life." Myrcella said.

"You are so lucky. I should have just waited around for him to like me. Then things would be easy for me." Arya joked.

""You better take that back. I can be a scrappy bitch when I want to be." Myrcella said.

Arya laughed and she knew that Myrcella was only half joking.

"So I know that you like Gendry. And you have gotten to know Jaqen. So what am I going to do now Myrcella? You know them, tell me what to do." Arya pleaded.

"I am not going to pick who you should date. That is your choice." Myrcella said as she patted her friend on the hand. "I am going to get back to my boyfriend. You stay here and think. It seems like you need time to do it."

"Okay. Hey if you see Gendry or Jaqen can you tell them that I am in here?" Arya asked.

"Sure thing sweetie." Myrcella walked away and looked back at Arya. "I do no not wish to be you."

Arya laid her head on the table and drained the remaining tea in her cup. She was sitting there alone thinking about who she should pick.

Gendry walked into the kitchen and she felt her heart do a flip flop. It always did when she was with him. They sat there and had a little talk and her before her brother came in and took him away. She watched them talk in the back yard. They were acting like they were old friends. She smiled watching them talk. She knew that they would get along.

She heard the door of the kitchen open. Jaqen walked into the room and he tried to make some joke about Theon asking dumb questions and then told her about a painting that he made for her. She had gotten the painting inside and opened it. It looked just like home. If there was any way that she could have stayed there looking at it she would have.

She went and waved and mingled with the people at the party. Gendry and Jaqen had left the house not long after they had had their talks with her brothers. She was sad she didn't have long to talk to them. The brothers had said goodbye to both boys before she could and went back to her fathers study to look at the painting. Jon was there looking at it when she found him

"This is good. Is it Jaqen?" Jon said standing up completely.

"It is. He is a very great painter." She said taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"So do you want my findings?" Jon joked.

"Sure. I saw you getting all buddy buddy with Gendry. So I know that you like him. What do you think of Jaqen?" She asked.

"I think Gendry would be good for you. Jaqen is not going to be around for much longer. He is going East for art school in March. He got an early acceptance to that school that he wanted to go to." Jon said looking his sister in the eye. He wanted to say more but was letting her down gently.

"He would have told me that." She said.

"He just found out. He will tell you." Jon said. "So if you want a short fling then Jaqen is your guy. But if you want a long term relationship, which I think would be better for you; I say you should date Gendry."

"I have a lot to think about. Can you help me take the painting to my room?" She asked. "I need to shower and get out of this dress."

"Sure thing Little Wolf. I hope that this helped you." He stood rubbing her shoulders.

"I guess that it did. Thanks Jon." She walked out of the door and up the stairs to her bedroom and collected her things to get ready for her shower. She knew Jon would follow with the painting when that party slowed down some. She should have stayed but her heart wasn't in it. She felt like a sleepwalker. Arya undressed and stood naked in her room looking at her body in the mirror. She saw nothing to fight over, but men were crazy. When she was in the bathroom she turned the water on and stepped into it. She let herself relax in the shower. The hot water melted her tense muscles. The hard part was still to come. She had to pick which guy to be with. Was this never going to end?

**A/N I love that I got this post up before Christmas. I think I first posted this weeks after Christmas. Its so nice to get real life to meld with story for rea I hope you liked ,y changes. I added more to Jon and in the others as well. Remember tl review!**


	18. A New Year

Arya

Christmas had been amazing. It was different. She had missed the snow, the caroling and the burning of the Yule Log. Her family always held a party for the town of Winterfell that was talked about all year long. She pretended to hate that, but she found herself missing it all. She never thought those stupid traditions would impact her so much but they did once she moved down South.

She hated parties at the Baratheon's house. Everything was so fake and forced. She was only here at the New Year's party was for Myrcella. There was no other reason that she should be here. She had wanted to go to a party with the guys. They were going to play a gig and make some money for a change. Instead she found herself in another dress and heels and had her makeup on and her hair done. She decided to do things different and was in pink, not girly pink but high lighter pink. Her mother had not been pleased until she said Al least she didn't have a fake Mohawk for her hair. The issue was dropped.

She was standing to Myrcella on a balcony waiting for the fireworks to start. They were both given champagne from Robert Baratheon and shooed away before her parents found out.

"This stuff smells funny and the bubbles in it make my nose hurt when I smell it." Arya said as she sniffed the glass.

"It's more of a symbol then anything. We don't have to drink it." Myrcella said sadly. "I wish that I was with Aegon rather then these puffed up painted peacocks."

"I wish that I was with the guys." Arya was leaning against the railing. She had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Guys? Don't you mean Gendry? He did want to take you out tonight." Myrcella asked. Arya blushed.

"I would have gone. I wanted to. But he backed down. If he would not have given up so easily I know that my dad would have let me go. But Gendry just gave up." Arya was getting angry and sad all at the same time.

"He didn't want to make you suffer I am sure. At least not till you made a decision." Myrcella said.

"God I wish that one of them would just have the balls to ask me out. Not on a date but to be their girlfriend. That would make things so easy. Then I would not have to choose and one of them would have showed that they have the balls to say "Hey I like you and want to be your boyfriend." But they have to be all "Let the girl pick." It is all so stupid." Arya was bitching and she knew it.

"Do you really want them to make your choice for you?" Myrcella could not make herself sound happy.

"Yes. I gave that choice to Jon, but he really didn't say anything to help me make a choice. All he said was that if I wanted a long term go with Gendry, and for a short term go with Jaqen. That is not helpful." She sighed. Her brothers had been her ace in the hole. They had failed her on that. They had never failed her before.

"Well he has a point. Jaqen is leaving in a little while. Long distance relationships don't last. Just date Gendry. You two are made for each other. Like Aegon and I are meant for each other." Myrcella gave a wistful sigh. Arya pocked on that contented sound. She turned to her friend and was slightly intrigued.

"You have it bad don't you?" Arya chuckled.

"We sort of did it. After your party. He took me to his place and we did it." Myrcella blushed.

Arya was silent. Her best friend ever had been sitting on this for a week and had not told her? This nugget would have been the perfect thing to make her not think of things.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Arya demanded.

"I was keeping it between us and we were keeping it in the bubble of happiness. I didn't want it to pop. It was amazing Arya. I have never felt so happy and care free before. Weightless and boneless and amazing." Myrcellas sad attitude was suddenly gone and she was something completely different.

"That good huh? Your happiness bubble wasn't the only thing popped." Arya chuckled and nudged her friend in the ribs. Her friend let go of the popped comment.

"More then that good. It was the best thing ever." Myrcella smiled at her friend. "If you would just make a decision you would know what I am feeling. It is GREAT." She yelled as the first of the fireworks shot into the air.

The air filled with flowers of reds and greens. The two girls looked up and watched as the sparks came cascading down. The sound was deafening and they couldn't talk. They watched the show and rang in the New Year. Arya took a sip of the champagne and did not like the taste and dumped it over the railing. Myrcella followed suit with hers. They hugged and then started to text their friends that they couldn't be with Happy New Years.

Arya's phone started to buzz. It was from Gendry. She opened the message and all she could do was look at the text.

_Arya I want you to go out with me. Not just on a date, but to be my girlfriend. So what do you think?-Gendry_

Arya nudged Myrcella and showed her the phone. Myrcella gave her the thumbs up.

Then her phone was buzzing again with another text

_I have liked you since I first saw you. I have wanted to ask you out before, but I was to chicken. Will you please please say yes?_

Arya giggled at the text and shook her head. She was so happy that one of them took the choice out of her hands, but now what was she going to do now? How was she going to tell Jaqen that she had picked Gendry? Or how was she going to stop having feelings for him? Well first thing first, she was going to tell Gendry yes, but after she tells Jon.

_Jon guess what? Gendry asked me out. I think that I am going to say yes to him. –Arya_

_That's good Little Wolf. If you want to leave I can take you away from here. This is a snore fest. We can take Myrcella too. –Jon_

_That would be great. I just have to make a quick text.__Thanks for the help Jon. –Arya_

"Hey Myrcella do you want to get out of here?" Arya asked.

"You know that I do, but that is not happening." Myrcella huffed. "How are we going to do this? Just walk out of here?"

"No. Jon said that he wanted to leave here too. He said that he would spring us." Arya told her friend her eyes on her phone sending Gendry a text message.

_God it took you long enough to ask me. I accept. I really do. I have some good news. Myrcella, Jon and I are splitting from this shitty party and are coming to your gig. –Arya._

_That is so great. I'll see you then. Would you sock me if I called you my girlfriend? –Gendry_

_Girlfriend is fine, but other pet names will have to be approved. –Arya_

_How about Sweet Lips or Sexy Bod Girl? –Gendry_

_I am going to sock you. That is a big fat hell no. –Arya_

_We will talk about this later. I have to go get back on stage. Beric is going to have a fit when he hears that another one of his band members has a girlfriend. –Gendry_

_Play great. I'll see you soon. –Arya_

Arya and Myrcella walked down the stairs and went to where Jon was waiting for them. Arya hated Myrcellas house. It was so easy to get lost here.

"Your knight in shining armor is here to rescue you poor maidens. Come on, your pumpkin awaits you." Jon swung his arms out and gave the girls a bow.

"Let's get out of here you big lug. I have a boyfriend to meet." Myrcella said dragging Jon and Arya to the door. "And so does Arya."

"You did good Little Wolf. I liked him the best, even if he wouldn't tell me what your two are doing with that project that I know has to do with me." Jon raised his hand to ruffle her hair.

"Jon Stark if you touch my hair I will break your arm." She growled.

"You never were this touchy about your hair before. Now let's go. Dad talked to your father Myrcella. You have the freedom for the evening. Now let's blow this joint." Jon ushered girls out of the crowded garden area. They walked out to the valet area. Jon gave them the key paper. They waited for a rented car to be pulled up.

"This place is a zoo." Arya huffed.

"I know. I miss our parties at home. Myrcella how do you live like this?" Jon asked.

"I do what I have to do." She shrugged. "We here in Kings Landis g learn to live with what we have to. We might hate it, but it's how things work here."

"Well they suck." Jon said as the car pulled up. "Come on girls. Let's get the hell out of here to a real party."

The three piled into the car. Arya was elated that she was leaving the party. She was over joyed that she was on her way to see her boyfriend. She couldn't get over saying the word, even in her head. She had a boyfriend. Gendry Waters was her boyfriend and she was elated.

Gendry

He was over the moon. He had asked Arya out and she had said yes. After Aegon had showed him a text from Myrcella saying that Arya wanted him to take the bull by the horns and grow a pair and ask her out, he knew that he had to do it first. So he did. Now she was on her way to the gig and he was so happy he was playing like he had never played before.

His fingers flew over the strings of the guitar. He was in the zone and he was going to play like he was the best he ever could.

They had played six songs when he saw a hot pink dress and he knew that Arya was there. He smiled and continued to play. He watched as she made her way up to the stage to stand right in front of him. She was smiling and swaying to the music. He was so pumped up that she was there as his girlfriend.

Beric signaled that the next song was going to be the last song. The crowed sounded disappointed and started yelling for more. More from the band. He knew that under normal circumstances he would have wanted to play more, but not tonight. He just wanted to get off the stage and see Arya.

They played and rocked and made the crowd yell for more. Beric looked at his band mates and wanted to play one more song. But the looks on Aegon and Gendry's faces stopped him.

"Thank you guys. You have been great. The Guys and I want you thank you! Good night!" Beric said into the mick and they put down their equipment and Aegon and Gendry rushed off the stage and over to their girls. Gendry had total tunnel vision. He didn't see Jon standing beside Arya. He just saw her and how, beautiful she was. He picked her up off the ground and crushed his lips to hers. He couldn't stop himself, he let his hands roam over her body and his tongue entered her mouth. He kissed her hard and deep. He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, invoking a deep pure from her. He was egged on by the sound. Je loved that he could invoke that sound from her. He wanted to do it again.

There was a tap on his shoulder. He ignored it and continued to make out with his new girlfriend. There was another tap in his shoulder.

"Gendry, earth to Gendry. If you don't stop kissing my little sister like that I will be forced to rip your arms out of their sockets and beat you to death with them." A soft smooth voice said in his ear.

He pulled his mouth away from the kiss and dropped his arms from Arya. He didn't wasn't to stop but he knew that Jon would do what he said. He was more frightened of Jon then he was turned on by Arya.

"That's more like it. Now as long as I am here you will do nothing but hold her hand." Jon looked over at Gendry.

"Jon that is enough of that. I have walked in on you doing more then kissing one of your girlfriends through the years. I don't think that you have any right to tell my boyfriend that he can't kiss me." Arya bristled.

"It's okay Arya. I don't think that I want to die." Gendry said. Jon just laughed.

They had a good time for the rest of the party. Jon had told the Starks that he was with the girls so they got to stay out till past curfew and they went home at two then one. Arya and Gendry sat in a corner and talked for most of the night. They had more in common then they knew. He was telling her a funny story about when he first met Myrcella and her brother. She told him about the time that Bran had gotten his foot stuck in a tub of oil when he had come to watch their brothers work on cars. He was having a good time talking to her, just talking. Then it was time for him to go.

"Arya I am so happy that you said yes." He said as she stood there looking up at him.

"I am happy that you asked. Everyone said that I should pick you. But I wanted someone to pick me first." She whispered looking at the logo on his chest.

"Gods Arya I wanted you from the moment that I saw you. And you look amazing in this dress. Almost as good as the first time that I saw you. And I was fighting for you." He said tilting her face up.

"Well I couldn't tell." She gave him a small smack on the arm but smiled at him before her face turned serious. "I have to tell Jaqen. I want to do it in person. Don't get mad okay?" She demanded.

"Well if you go I want you to either have me there or Jon. There is no way that I can just let you go see him alone." Gendry told her trying not to let his dander stand up. He wanted to tell her how Jaqen was a creep and that he was sick and evil. He scared her and made her scared for her. Everything in him made her want to protect her from him.

"Fine. I will take Jon. Happy now. Don't get so defensive. I'm sure that things will be fine. We are just friends Gendry. From now on." She grabbed his face and gave him a kiss to prove that she was his girl. "I picked you Gendry, don't feel so insecure."

"It is hard not to feel that way when you look that good." He said as he kissed her neck. He started to take the kiss deeper, sucking the tender bits of her neck. She molded her body to his, clearly asking for more, more that he was willing to give.

"That's it you two. I have to get my little sister home and it looks like you need a shower, a very cold shower Gendry." Jon said as he scowled at the two of them. They walked out to the car before she spoke to Jon. She gave Gendry another kiss before stepping away and looking at Jon.

"Yes sir brother dear." Arya said as she got in the car.

"You take care of my sister Gendry. And we are going to stay in touch. I think that we are on the way to having a good friendship here." Jon stuck out his hand and Gendry took it and they shook hands.

"Alright Jon. Since you already have my number from Arya's phone you can use it anytime." Gendry told Jon.

"You bet your ass I'll be calling. I know you are working on something with her. And she won't tell me shit. You are my only way to getting information." Jon shouted out as he slid in and drove the girls away.

Gendry stood there with Aegon watched them drive away. It was a bitter sweet, watching his girl drive away. He looked at his best friend. He mirrored his look.

"There goes the best thing in my life." Aegon said. "She is the light of my life. And now that I have had her I want so much more of her."

"Wait, what! Are you saying what I think you are?" Gendry choked.

"Yeah man, I'm no longer a virgin. And neither is Myrcella." Aegon said.

"I can't wait until I know that feeling." Gendry said softly, but not soft enough.

"How can you still not have done it yet?" Aegon demanded. "There was that girl, last year, you dated forever. I thought you did it then."

"Nope. I guess I was waiting for the one. And I finally found her. The ONE man." Gendry shouted.

"Come on lover boy, let's go home." Aegon and Gendry walked from the parking lot. Neither of them looked around as they left. If they had they would have seen they were being watched.

Sansa

Joffery was acting like a different person since he had received the cufflinks. He was not as handsy or as slobbery as he usually was when he kissed her. On one occasion when they had made out she had not wanted to vomit afterwards. He was being sweet and nice. She wondered if he had a tumor in his brain that was causing him to change his behavior.

They had been having a relatively good time at the party that night. She had worn the jewels that Joffery had given to her, like she said she would. She knew that she looked good. She had spent all day at the salon. They had given her a treatment that was fit for a queen.

"God Sansa you are the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life." Joffery had said when he had first seen her. "Look here I have on your cufflinks on."

He showed her the cuff links and she smiled at him.

"They look great Joffery. I am so glad that you like them." She said. "Who all is here?"

She looked around at the party for the one person that she had wanted to see most.

"The football team is all here. They are all at the pool house. We have a different kind of party going on there. Come on let's go. We just have to be back to the main house by the fireworks." Joffery took her hand and pulled her to the other party.

Sansa went with him and they entered the pool area. She was hailed by many of the kids that she went to school with. Margaery came rushing to her side. She took her away from Jofferys and to her surprise she let her be lead away from him.

"Margaery what are you doing?" Sansa asked as she dragged her behind a tree away from the view of the party.

"I think that you should hear this from me. Joffery has been saying that he is only with you to have sex with you. I don't trust him. I want you to be safe." Margery said in a hushed voice.

"He is not going to get that. I think that I would rather die then let that happen." Sansa said. "And I don't think that he would do that. He has been acting differently since Christmas. I think he really likes me Margaery. Either that or he is getting sick and has a tumor." Sansa tried to laugh but Margaery was not amused.

"Just watch yourself. You are too nice of a person to have things like this happen to." Margaery said in a broken voice. Sansa wanted to asker more, but she knew she had better get back to Joffery.

"I have to get back. I want to talk to some of the girls on the squad." Sansa started to turn away and Margaery followed.

"They want to make you co-captain. The coach thinks that you have a real talent for keeping us all on point. We think with you and me we could do well in the competition circuit this year." Margaery was all bubbly and happy again.

"That would be amazing. I really miss being on a squad as a captain. Don't get me wrong, I love being on the team, but I love being a captain." Sansa blushed and they laughed as they walked back to the party.

They mingled and talked with the girls. She was very happy seeing these girls. She didn't feel as much of a connection as she had with the girls from her squad back home, but they were good girls. Sort of stupid, but they were peppy and they could cheer well together.

"Sansa we are so happy that you came to Kings Landing. We have a chance to really do something with the squad. If you want to run for Prom Queen I will totally help you. But I think you might need to find someone different to be your King then Joffery. I mean he is rich, good looking and popular, but he is really weird." A girl named Jeyne gushed.

"Thank you Jeyne. I really appreciate that. Excuse me I have to get another water." She wanted out of this conversation fast.

"You don't want a drink?" Jeyne asked shocked.

"No. I don't drink. My family isn't really into drinking." Sansa said walking over to a get some water.

She was reaching for a bottle of water and her hand bumped into another larger hand. She looked up and saw Sandor standing beside her. She felt a smile light up her face and she just looked at him. She knew that she should have removed her hand, but it felt so right resting on his. He was the one that pulled away first.

"You look well tonight Sansa." He said in his gruff voice.

"Thank you. You look well also. Here, you were reaching for the water." She tried to hand the water to him but he gave it back to her.

"You got it first. You keep it." He leaned down and reached for another one.

"So is there an expiration date on the observatory? I do not think I will be able to use them for a while." She blushed. She really did want to go there with him. But knew Joffery would throw a fit. She was planning on using them once she was free of him.

"There isn't." He opened the water and took a sip of it.

"Oh. Okay. How do you like the book?" Sansa was anxious to know if he liked what she had gotten for him.

"I like it a lot. It was one that I do not have. It is a treasure to me." He said not looking at her.

She was confused because he was not looking at her as they talked. Then she had a flash back to the drunk dial that he made. He had called her a little vixen and in a way admitted that he liked her. Hell he had called Joffery a douche bag, a worm. He had to have feelings for her. She had to break things off with Joffery. If what Margaery said was true and he was only with her for sex then she should be with someone that liked her.

"Sandor if I ask you something would you tell me the truth?" She asked.

"If I can. What is it?" Je was still not looking at her.

"Is Joffery only dating me for sex?" Her voice was small and timid.

Sandor choked on the water that he was drinking and started to cough. She just tried to pat on his back, but she was not tall enough to effectively pat his back.

"Okay, okay that is enough." He wheezed as he stood up. "I don't think that I will be able to answer that. He likes you, you really made him happy with those cufflinks."

"So he doesn't just want me for sex?" She was happy that Joffery wanted more than just her body.

"I can't answer that. Look Sansa we are friends and I like you, but I can't tell you what you want to know." He looked uncomfortable.

"Right. I will have to ask him, is that right?" She looked up at him and tried to read his face.

"That is up to you Sansa. There are things that should not be asked if you do not want to know the answer to." He said.

He walked away and left her standing by the coolers. He was so confusing and he was not giving her anything to go off of. Did he like her, or did he want her to stay with Joffery?

Sansa walked over to Joffery and she was surprised to see that he had a soda can in his hand. He didn't appear to be drinking and she found that she was pleased. She stayed by his side and he was not as crude as he usually was. He was telling a joke and everyone was laughing. Then he checked his watch.

"We had better get back to the main house. It is almost time for the fireworks." Joffery took Sansa by the elbow and lead her through the crowd. They stood with the group under the balcony. He was kind and sweet and when she started to shiver he took his jacket off and draped it around her shoulders.

"Thank you Joffery." She wanted to ask him if he was only dating her for sex, which they had not had.

"Anything for you Sansa. I just want to keep you happy." He slid his arm around her shoulders.

The people on the grounds were counting down to the New Year and they were counting along. When the clock chimed midnight he kissed her in a fast hurried way. Margaery was there pulling Sansa away from him and hugging her. She was then assaulted by the rest of the cheerleaders. Then she came face to face with Sandor. He looked at her and she looked back at Joffery. Margaery was hugging him. Sansa decided to risk it. She stood up on her toes and kissed him on his lips. It was quick and light, but it sent a shock through her all the way to her toes. Jofferys kisses never made her feel like that.

As her lips were touching Sandor she heard Jeyne scream and Joffery start yelling. She pulled away from Sandor and took her hand off the scarred part of his face and looked over at the commotion. Someone on the balcony had dumped something over the edge. Jayne and Joffery were dripping wet. It was if someone had turned a faucet on them.

"What the hell." Joffery yelled looking up to see who had done that to him. Sansa walked over to him.

"Joffery are you okay?" She asked trying to wipe the liquid off his face.

"Get away from me you stupid bitch." He snapped, pushing her away from him hard enough for her to fall to the ground.

She landed hard on her side and she hit her arm on a flower pot. She heard a snap and she felt eyes well up with tears.

"Oh gods Sansa are you okay?" Margaery said.

"My arm really hurts. I think it is broken." She cradled it to her body and she started to cry.

"Sandor! Can you help me get Sansa to her parents?" Margaery asked.

Sandor came over to where Sansa was sitting on the ground. He gingerly helped her up from the floor. He put her body next to his. He was shielding her from the group of people that were flocking around to see what was happening. They moved away from the group of people and to where he parents were.

"Mr. Stark, there has been an accident. Sansa fell and her arm was hurt." Margaery said as soon as she got to where they were standing.

"Sansa, are you hurt?" Ned turned and looked at his daughter.

"I think that my arm is broken daddy. It hurts really badly." She sobbed and nestled closer into Sandor.

"What happened?" Ned demanded looking up at Sandor.

"Something was spilt on Joffery and Sansa went to see if he was okay, he pushed her and she fell to the ground. She landed on a flower pot and hit her arm with all her weight behind it." Sandor told Ned.

"Come on dear, let's get you to the hospital and get you checked out." Ned tried to take Sansa away from Sandor, but she clung to him.

"Can Sandor come with? I feel wobbly and don't think I can walk. You need to find mom and Robb and let them know. Sandor could you drive us? That way mom and the rest won't be stranded here." Sansa looked between her father and Sandor.

"I see no problem with that. Sandor is that alright with you?" Ned looked Sandor in the eye to gage his answer.

"No sir that is no problem. I would have insisted that I come along. I think that it will be a long night and I can work with Sansa on our chemistry project." Sandor said.

"Oh just what I need. More pain piled up on my arm." She said between tears.

Bran

Bran had conned his way out of going to the New Year's party at the Baratheon house. He had told his mother that he had a splitting headache, which was true, and that he had vomited, which was not true. He was so convincing he did not have to go to the party. But instead of staying bed like he had told her he was going to do was invite Jojen and Meera to hang out under his favorite tree in the back yard. He had invited them over so they could talk about the increasing "episodes" as he called them, or _visions_as the Reeds called them.

"So you have headaches now? It there sensitivity to light as well?" Jojen asked him as they reclined together.

"Yeah. Plus nose bleeds. How do I get it to stop? I do not want this anymore." Bran said with a cool compress on his head.

"You can't get it to stop buddy. You just going to let things happen the way that they happen." Jojen replied as he sipped his ginger ale.

Bran sat in the Christmas lights that his mother had put up on all the trees in the yard. She was a little fanatical about lights. They were also on every plant in the house as well.

"So how do I cope with this then? I just want it to go away. The headaches are killing me." Bran held his head and moaned in discomfort.

"Jojen has found one thing that made the headaches go away. But you might not like it." Meera said in a sheepish voice.

"What is it? I'll try anything. Is it some kind of pill or something?" Bran asked in desperation.

"We have found that the only thing that works for Jojen is pot. He smokes pot and it the headaches go away and so do the visions." Meera said to Bran to gauge his reaction.

"Pot, as in marijuana? Isn't that illegal?" Bran was struck dumb.

"It is not if you have a medical card." Jojen piped up. "This is the West Coast. We do tend to be progressive here."

"I know that. We have them where I grew up too. But my parents are anti-drug" Bran snapped. He was getting irritated.

Just when he was thinking that these people were normal, they did something to throw him for a loop. Jojen smoked pot and had _visions_. Meera acted like a protector and a mother duck. But they were the only people at Kings Landing that were not intimidated by his brain or thought that he was a freak for being so smart. Why couldn't he have met normal people?

"It really helps?" Bran was skeptical, like always when it came to everything that the Reeds said.

"Yes." Jojen was so sure of what he was saying that Bran believed him. "I have some here with me if you want to try it." Jojen pulled a little baggie out of his pocket and showed it to Bran.

"Are you sure that it will make my head stop pounding?" His headache was getting worse by the second and he felt another nose bleed coming up. And when he had a nose bleed he always had an episode.

"It might work for you. It works for me." Jojen proceeded to make a marijuana cigarette and lit it, taking a puff off of it himself before handing it to Bran.

Bran took the joint and took a puff off it. He had read a book on the proper way to inhale, but he soon realized that reading it and doing it were two different things. He started to cough uncontrollably and his eyes watered.

"Is there another way to do this? Like can't I eat it or something?" Bran coughed out.

"Sure there is. Here I have a cookie, I don't always like to smoke. The smell is over powering." Jojen reached into his backpack and gave Bran an oatmeal cookie.

Bran took a bite. It was a great cookie. If he hadn't known better he would have never known it was a pot cookie. After one bite was down he looked at Jojen smoking more off his cigarette. Since the cookie was so good he ate two more bites. He was already feeling better. He figured that he hadn't done the thing smoking completely wrong if he was feeling something already. Then he realized that Jojen was blowing the smoke in Brans direction. That was the cause. But he didn't care, not at all. For the first time in weeks his head was not pounding. There was still pressure behind his eye, but the pounding had gone. He felt like himself again.

"I feel a little better. Thanks. How long will this last?" He lay back on the yard chair he was sitting on. The lights on the trees started to dance before him.

"Depends. Since this is your first time it could last for a while. Just go with it Bran. You don't have to question everything." Meera said as she stood up from her place up wind of the boys and walked over to Bran. She looked him in the eye and placed her hand on his face. He nuzzled into it like a cat does when they are with their owner. "Bran has left the building." She chuckled and went back to her place up wind.

When she had been standing before him, Bran could have sworn that she was surrounded by lights that danced around her like fairies. Then he looked over at the trees and they were performing Swan Lake. He had never seen anything so outrageous in his entire life and started laughing. It started out as a giggle then he was doubled over with his head between his knees laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

"Bran. Bran are you okay? What is so funny Bran?" Meera was beside him again shaking his shoulders.

"The trees. They're doing ballet." He fell back on to the lounge chair and continued laughing.

Jojen stopped looking up at the stars and looked over at the trees. His eyes almost popped out of his head. "Oh my god Bran you are so fucking right. Shit. Do you think they can see us? Oh wow! They're on their toes!" He started to snort and this set both boys over the edge once again.

"You two are the worst. I thought that one idiot was bad, but two it a nightmare. I am going to be right over there reading. Let me know what is going on sometimes. But for the most part keep things to yourselves." Meera stalked away in a bad mood.

"What is wrong with her?" Bran asked after he had mild control of himself.

"She's mad because she can't use pot. One of us has to be the responsible ones. Thank the gods I am the younger brother. It would suck being the oldest." Jojen fell into the giggles again and Bran followed.

Sandor

He sat in an ER room cubical with Ned Stark as Sansa went to get her arm x-rayed. He sat there in a strange silence as he looked in back issues of People Magazine. He had held Sansa tight to his side on the drive over to the hospital. He was hot and cold with anger and fear. How had he broken her arm?

"Did he mean to hurt her?" Ned finally asked.

"I don't think so sir. I think that it was just an accident." Sandor said. He wanted that to be the truth.

"You don't have to lie for him. If he did intentionally hurt her I won't do anything to him, his mother would probably kill me. But I would like to know the truth." Ned's voice was quiet and sounded deadly.

"Something spilled on him, she went to see and then he had a freak out and pushed her. I don't think that he even realized he had done anything to hurt her. When he gets angry he gets tunnel vision. It happens to him all the time. He left before we realized she fell hard." Sandor told Ned.

"Is he violent?" Ned demanded.

"I don't really feel comfortable with this sir. I mean no offence sir, but I don't like to gossip." Sandor looked him in the eye as he said what he needed to say. He really did not want to talk about Joffery wit Ned Stark. He would tell more then he should.

"I understand Sandor. Thank you for being so honest with me. And I want you to know that I appreciate how kind you have been to my daughter." Ned said turning back to the magazine.

Sansa was wheeled back into the room by the nurse. She looked like she was in less pain. Sandor suspected that the pain medication that they had given her an hour before while they were waiting had finally kicked in.

"How bad is it? Is her arm broken?" Ned asked the nurse as she helped Sansa onto the bed to relax. Sansa was pale and unsteady on her feet.

"The doctor will be in shortly to talk with you. I am sorry that I have no real information for you Mr. Stark." The nurse said as she tucked Sansa in and hooked the IV bag onto the poll by the bed.

"When did she get the IV?" Sandor asked. He knew that he was just there as their ride, but he couldn't help himself.

"She checked out as dehydrated and I put one in when we were waiting for the x-ray. I also had to give her an anti-nausea med. That with the combination of the pain pill will cause her to be a little loopy." The nurse advised to them.

Sandor looked down at Sansa on the bed. She looked like she was on deaths door and was going to die at any moment. He was so very concerned for her that he would he would sit there with her father in an uncomfortable silence for hours as long as he got to make sure that she was alright.

"Is the doctor out here?" Ned asked the nurse started to leave.

"Yes Mr. Stark. But he should be in in a little while if you want to wait." The nurse said with her hand on the door to the room.

"There are things that I want to talk to him about in privet." Ned said in a tone of voice that let everyone know that he was not to be argued with.

He walked out of the room with the nurse. Sandor looked back at the bed and Sansa had her eyes opened and was looking at him. She opened her hand and motioned for him to come closer to her. He got up and walked over to her side and sat on a chair by the bed. She took his hand and smiled at him.

"I am so happy that you are here Sandor. You are making me feel so much better." She had a slight slur to her speech.

"I am happy to be here making sure you are okay." He stroked his thumb across her knuckles. He realized what he was doing was not supposed to be his job, but he couldn't help it.

"Climb onto the bed and hold me." She gave him that little vixen smile of hers that left him weak in the knees.

"I don't think that that would be appropriate. So you are just going to have to settle for me holding your hand here." He smiled at her and reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I am the most stupidest person in the world. Do you know that?" She giggled as she asked.

"You are not stupid. You are in pain and in the hospital." He tried to sooth her.

"No I am stupid. I am wasting my time and I should not be wasting it." She shook her head from side to side.

"That is enough of that Sansa. No more talk like that." He told her.

"Okay Sandor whatever you say." She clung to his hand tighter and closed her eyes.

Ned walked in with the doctor beside him.

"Well Miss Stark you do indeed have a small break in your arm. The nurse will be in shortly to help set and put the cast on it." The doctor smiled at her.

"Is it going to hurt? Sandor will you still hold my hand when they put the cast on?" She looked over at Sandor with eyes the size of saucers.

"If it is what you want I will." He reassured her.

Sansa nodded her head repeatedly. The nurse came in and with the equipment to make the cast. Her doctor walked out and returned with a medication bottle and a syringe and administered some more pain medication to the IV.

"This is for the pain." He said looking down at Sansa. She gave him a watery smile.

The nurse and the doctor went about realigning her broken arm and putting her in a cast. They made it a red one, like she had asked for. Sandor knew that it was so it would match her car. She tried to hold still like the doctor had told her to do, but she kept squeezing Sandor's hand tighter as they continued to work. He looked over at her father and saw a strange look on his face. He looked back to Sansa when she hissed in pain.

"Now all we have to do is wait for it to dry and you are free to go. I am going to give you some pain medication for the discomfort at home." The doctor said removing his gloves. "I will give you some information about the pain meds and the side effects as well as something about how to care for a cast."

"We have had plenty of children with broken bones. My older sons had quite a few injuries playing sports. I think my wife and I know everything about them." Ned laughed as he walked out of the room with the doctor.

"I'm going to live Sandor. I am not going to die!" Sansa said in a blissfully happy voice.

"You were never going to die Sansa. It was just a broken arm." Sandor chuckled again. "You are saying the funniest things right now Sansa. It must be the meds that they gave you. How are you feeling?"

"I feel sleepy. Will you carry me to the car when we leave?" She gave him pleading puppy dog eyes.

"You will have to go in the wheelchair out of the hospital hon. Hospital policy. But if I had a choice I would want my strapping boyfriend to carry me out as well." The nurse whispered to Sansa in a conspiratorial way, but not quite enough for Sandor not to hear.

"He is strapping isn't he?" Sansa looked over at Sandor. "He is very good looking. I wish that he was my boyfriend. But the boy I am dating is the one who broke my arm. He did it on accident. But Sandor here saved me." She told the nurse and Sandor's face heated into a blush.

The nurse excused herself from the room after Sansa's little speech saying that she had to give the doctor some new information.

"I think I need to close my eyes. But don't let go of my hand. If you let go of my hand I will float away. I don't want to float away, I want to stay right here with you." She trailed off and fell asleep. She made soft little snoring sounds.

Sandor was watching her sleep when Ned walked back in with the nurse and the wheelchair.

"Okay it is time to…" Ned trailed off as he saw his sleeping daughter. "The nurse is going to take the IV out and we can go. Two hours here is enough time." Ned had dropped his voice so not to disturb his sleeping daughter. He walked over to Sandor and gave him a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. You seem to be giving her some comfort."

"It is not a problem sir. Sansa is my friend. I will always be there for my friends when they need something." He said still holding Sansa's hand.

"You're a good man Sandor." Ned left the room.

Sansa stirred and smiled in her sleep. The nurse took the IV out and looked at him, as if considering something.

"Hon, I'm going to break the rules for you and this sweet little girl here. I see cases like this all the time. Girls coming in here with bruises and broken bones from boyfriends. They are too stupid to walk away. This girl she seems willing to leave, but she just needs someone to lead her to safety." The nurse sounded sad and tired. She looked like she had seen too much. "I'm going to let you carry her out."

Sander was shocked. After her job was done the nurse left. Sandor watched the door for a few moments then leaned down and kissed her lips. He whispered in her ear a promise.

"I will never let anything happen to you Sansa."


	19. Hard Talks

Eddard

"I want to go home Ned. I want to take the kids and go back North before anything worse happens. This place is no good for our family." Catelyn said as she paced back and forward at the foot of the bed.

"You are exaggerating dear. This place is not so bad." Ned said from the bed, his laptop on the top of the blanket. He was writing an email to Robert about Sansa's injury and what he talked to the doctor about. It wasn't going to be a long email, but the words would have to be chosen with care. He was about to tell his friend that his son was abusive to others. A part of Ned figured Robert mew, but as soon as the email was sent to him, and his wife, it would be documented. That's what the doctor had said was needed if things went to court.

"Really Ned." She threw her hands up in exasperation. Cat had no idea what he was doing. He hadn't told her of his suspicions once she finished fussing over Sansa. His wife had been too angry at their middle son. "Rickon was found under the bleachers writing a vulgar poem, Bran was smoking pot in the back yard, Sansa's boyfriend broke her arm, and Arya she is going off the deep end."

"Out of all our children Arya is the least of our worries. She is doing better here than any of them, she found herself. I am proud of her and the choices she made. As for the others I will admit that you are correct about them. They are acting different. But dear we caught our older ones doing the same thing the boys are doing here. The one I truly am worried for is Sansa." Ned said closing the laptop.

"I worry for Sansa as well, but she is not the one who keeps me up at night. No I am more worried about Arya. She is taking auto classes, making strange paintings and dating a strange boy. That is worrying me most. She has changed so much, I feel like I don't even know my own child." She looked at her husband and the look she gave him was a dare to contradict her.

Ned was getting frustrated with his wife. She was always closing her mind off to Arya and who she truly was. He loved his wife, truly and deeply, but sometimes she was just so blind. Ned was going to tell her once and for all to leave Arya alone once.

"There is nothing wrong with her grades, she is doing well in extracurricular activities, and that boy as you call him, is a good boy. Gendry also makes good grades, doesn't drink, do drugs and makes her happy. She has blossomed here Cat. You will stop trying to stifle her. Arya might not be doing it the way you want her to but she is coming into her own and will be an amazing woman someday. The one with that I worry most about is Sansa and you should to. Joffery is bad for her."

He cracked his knuckles. He had wanted to go kill the boy for hurting his baby girl, but her comfort was more important. He took her home and walked into the shut storm his wife had brewing for months.

"He is by all appearance a good boy, why would he hurt her? Is there something that you could do about this by talking to his father? This isn't the first case of violence he has shown either. Didn't he get in a fight with his sister's boyfriend?" She sat in the edge of the bed and wrung her hands. She wasn't stupid, but she could be narrow minded sometimes. Arya had always been her focus, but here in the South she was the least of his worries. Sansa was.

"When I talked to Robert about what happened tonight he said that he handled things on his end. And from what our kids say Joffery is a bad seed, evil in fact. Cat I want to order Sansa to order her to give up that bastard." Ned opened his computer back up and started typing. He was now angry and he was going to finish his email to Robert.

"Ned you simply cannot order her to break up with Joffery. Think about what you are sating. Sansa always did what was expected of her, but she wouldn't do this. She has her pride. It will have to be her way on her time. That is the end of it. We have other matters to discuss. What about Bran? He was caught smoking pot at our house. If I complain about the people Arya is with the ones Bran has become froe ds with are so completely different then the kids he was friends with back home. He is grounded, for three months at least." Caitlyn seethed, rubbed her eyes and looked over at Ned wanting him to find the solution to the problem.

"Seriously? Grounded for three months? That's extreme. The older boys got clean up duty and two weeks grounding." Ned looked over the top of his computer and lowered his glasses. "If memory serves I remember you being experimental smoker in college too. Every day after class in fact. It was the boys first time. He gets two weeks and all bathroom cleanings and dishes for the month."

"My collage years are not the issue here, it's not the point. You were there as well. But I guess we can agree to the terms, but if he does it again he is in deep trouble." Catelyn huffed.

"Then that settles that. And Rickon was just being a small boy. He even cried when he was caught. All boys do that kind of things. Now leave me be woman. I have work to do and this talk is over." Ned said going back to his work.

"So you are not going to do anything about our family spiraling out of control?" Catelyn demanded standing up and walking to her side of the bed and arranging her nightstand.

"We have already decided on what we are doing with our family. We are not out of control." He had thought things settled. Why did she have to push things so? "But I will talk to all the children tomorrow at different times and discus what has been going on with them here. I will admit things have been different here, but I'll talk with them all. Would that make you happy my love?" Ned sounded extremely tired.

"I can live with that. Thank you my love. If we can't go home this will have to do." She walked to her side of the bed and slid down into the blankets.

He gathered all the papers on the bed into a neat pile and turned off his computer. "Now let's go to sleep."

Ned put all the papers and his computer on the nightstand and turned off the lights and slid down into bed and snuggled in next to his darling wife.

"I love you Ned."

"I love you to."

Bran

Bran had really fucked up. Robb had caught him and his friends in the back yard enjoying their New Year. He had finally gotten over the giggles and he and the Reeds had just gotten into a heated recession on polytheists' verses monotheists. Bran was jumping around animatedly when Robb had walked out to see him. He had been discovered with an offending joint in his hand, one that had just been lit. He was finally getting the hang of the whole inhale thing. He expected Robb to yell, but he took the pot, took a long ass drag then handed it back to Bran.

"Fuck I needed that. The party was a waste of time. Gods these moronic Southerners are so full of themselves. All the women there were trying too hard to get in my pants. One crusty old bitch put her goddamn hand down my pants. If Sansa hadn't broken her arm and we hadn't come home early I would have killed someone." Robb was in a foul mood, but his puff had calmed him some.

They were all starting to get over the shock of Robb catching them smoking. They heard the door open and they froze until Robb said that Theon might be coming out too. Bran had just put the joint to his lips and started to breathe it in when he felt hell freeze over at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Bran Stark what in the name of the Seven are you doing!" She had shrieked.

"Nothing mother. It is not, well it's medical. Jojen has a medical card. He thought it would help my headache. Honestly mom. It wasn't just for fun." Bran looked up at his seething mother with blurry eyes.

"Alright. It is legal for him to smoke, but you don't. Now I want Jojen and Meera to go home. Is one of you okay to drive?" She demanded. She was deadly calm and that scared him. Robb looked just as frightened.

"I am ma'am. I don't smoke or drink." Meera was timid at the anger that was rolling off his mother in waves.

"Then I suggest that you leave." She snapped. "Bran I want you to march right up to your room and go to bed. I will let your father deal with you when he gets home from the hospital with Sansa."

So Bran had marched up to his room and curled up on his bed. He fell asleep in no time and had vivid dreams. He had a dream that there was a coffee cheese cake the size of the dining room table was waiting for him out on the lawn. He was so hungry. He woke up and it was still dark so he fell back to sleep. Then he dreamed he was being chased through the halls of the house trying to find a door that was unlocked. He finally found a door that would open and he ran inside and hid. There waiting for him was a giant bag of Cheetos all for him. He had just opened the bag and started stuffing his face when the door was pulled opened and a zombie snatched the Cheetos away and locked him in the room. He just sat by the door and cried because his snack had been taken by a monster.

"Bran, Bran wake up! Mom says to wake you up or you don't get any waffles! I get to eat them all if you don't get down to the kitchen!" Rickson's voice penetrated the sleep fog that swirled around his groggy mind.

"Shut up Rickon. I'm not feeling good. I'll be down once I go to the bathroom." Bran mumbled with his head under his pillow.

"Well mom says to hurry. Oh and Robb said that he talked to dad. I heard them talking. What did Robb tell dad? Robb said that someone was in deep shit, then mom smacked him and I want to know who is in the shit. You know everything, so who is in the shit? Is it Sansa? She has a sling on and a red cast on her left arm. Is she in the shit?" Rickon kept talking until Bran got out of bed.

He highly suspected that Theon told him to keep talking until Bran was out of bed. Since he had no choice he threw off the blankets and swung his legs out of bed and stood up. The room swam and his vision was blurry. He lurched over to his desk and grabbed his new glasses. They helped slightly when he slid them on. Instead of blobs of color things were more defined blobs of color.

Rickon continued to talk about Sansa and her cast and that she had let him sign it with a permanent marker. He finally got the silence that he wanted when he reached the bathroom and locked Rickon outside. He could still hear him out in the hall chattering away. He stumbled over to the sink and ran some water and splashed it on his face.

When he looked up at the mirror he thought that he was looking at a ghost. His skin was pale to the point of being translucent. There were huge purple rings under his eyes. He grabbed the hand soap, not caring that it was bad for his face and tried to wash some color into it. Then he got his teeth brushed and decided that it was as good as he was going to be without a shower.

Rickon was standing by the door waiting to ambush him as soon as he got out of the bathroom.

"And Arya has been smiling and humming all moaning and she has a funny bruise on her shoulder where her neck starts. Jon laughed when mom saw it and she went even redder then Sansa's cast. She is going to see some guy named Jaqen today with Jon. They were getting ready to go after lunch. And …"

"Rickon shut up." Bran finally snapped.

"But I am just telling you what's going on." Rickon said pouting as they continued down to the kitchen.

"Bran there are some waffles left for you if you are hungry." Mrs. Clark said as Bran barged into the kitchen.

He made a straight line to the counter where there was one place left to sit. He fell into the waiting chair and started in on the waffles that Mrs. Clark set before him. He was on his second glass of orange juice when he noticed that everyone in the kitchen was looking at him.

"Whhaa iisss ett?" He asked his mouth full of food.

"You stink." Rickon said from the table.

"Rickon." Catelyn's voice cracked through the room. "Bran I want you to shower. After you and your father have a little chat." She looked at her husband as she said the last part.

Bran swallowed the mouth full of food and put down his fork. He was no longer hungry. He knew that he was the one that was in the shit that Rickon had mentioned when he was awoken that morning. He stole a look at his father and he was reading the paper, like every morning. But his mother was looking at him with sadness in her eye. He felt immensely guilty for what had happened the night before. He was never going to do it again, even if it made his headache go away.

He sat in the kitchen waiting for his father to be finished. He finally saw his dad put down the paper drink the remainder of his coffee and take his cup to the sink and rinse it out. Ned looked over at him and indicated that he wanted him to come along with him to his office.

Bran followed his father from the kitchen to the office. It was a different room then the study. It was off the kitchen and very small and cramped compared to the study. It was the room his mother and Mrs. Clark did the running of the house. This room was far enough away from everyone that if his father needed to get work done he hid there. Ned sat behind the desk and Bran sat opposite him. He felt like he was in the principal's office at school, but this was one hundred times worse.

"Bran would you like to tell me why you are here today?" His father always had a way of making him uneasy with just the simplest questions.

"I was caught smoking weed with my friend Jojen last night. But father it was to get rid of my headache." He said trying to defend his action.

"Tell me about these headaches Bran." Ned leaned his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his hands.

"They are constant; they start out small then get bigger. They are right behind my eyes. These glasses don't really help with making them go away, but they do help me see better. They move from behind my eyes to all over my head. Nothing that I had tried had worked and so Jojen had offered to let me use some of his medical weed. He gets headaches too. So I figured why not. And it worked dad. The headache stopped last night." Bran finished and looked at his stocking feet.

"Why didn't you tall your mother or I about the headaches sooner? We would have gotten you to a doctor and had a professional help you, not a fourteen year old kid. I don't even think that they give the medical cards to minors." Ned told Bran, making him feel even guiltier then he already did.

"I don't know why I didn't tell you. I guess it is because you have been so stressed since we moved here I didn't want to be a bother." He knew that was a lame excuse, but he didn't want to tell the truth about having _visions_that came true.

"Bran nothing that you have to tell me would be a bother. I will have your mother make you a doctor's appointment. And Bran I want to stress that what you did last night was not acceptable. You will be grounded for the next two weeks and on cleaning duty on dished and bathrooms for a month." Ned smiled as his face fell with the news of cleaning.

"Yes father. Can I go shower now?" Bran asked.

"Please do." Ned wrinkled his nose at him.

Bran shuffled out of the office and up to take a shower. He did smell nasty and maybe a shower would make him not feel like less of a bad person for breaking his families trust in him.

Sansa

She woke up at seven despite having stayed up so late and having pain medication in her system. She just laid in bed thinking about what happened the night before. She had a broken arm, and all because her boyfriend had a tizzy fit and push her. She had to end things. With her broken arm people would understand, wouldn't they? They had to. And she had finally realized last night that she liked Sandor. She was not good enough at pretending to stay with Joffery knowing that she liked someone else.

She tried to snuggle down in her bed willing herself to go back to sleep, but it was a week day and her body was used to getting up early no matter what. While lying there with her eyes shut thinking of the best way to get rid of Joffery her mother peeked in and checked on her.

"I am awake mother. You don't need to be so sneaky. It wouldn't work with me. I always know when you check on me." Sansa said to her mother with her eyes still closed.

"How are you feeling dear? Are you in pain?" Catelyn walked into the room and sat on the edge of Sansa's bed.

"A little. But I will be okay." She sat up in bed and looked over at her mother.

"It will hurt worse at the day goes on. So I want you to take this." She held out her hand with a small pill in it.

Sansa picked it up and put it in her mouth. Her mother handed her a cup of water and she took the pill. She hated taking medication, but she knew her mom was right.

"Whenever you are ready to come down stairs there will be breakfast ready. Mrs. Clark is making waffles." Catelyn took the water and patted Sansa on the head before walking out of the room and shutting the door.

She sat there waiting the medicine to take effect. Her arm was hurting more then she had told her mother and she was grateful to her for bringing her the pain pill. After about fifteen minutes of sitting there waiting for pill to work she got out of bed and went to her vanity to brush her hair and see what the damage was.

She looked at the face reflecting in the mirror and could not help but be frightened of who was looking back at her. She had not washed off the makeup from last night so there was eye shadow and mascara smudged around her eyes and her lipstick had smeared around her mouth. She figured that her lips would look like that if she had spent the night making out with someone. She wished that she had. It would have been a much more fun way to spend the start to the New Year, not in some stupid hospital ER.

She pulled on her bathrobe and slid her feet into her slippers and walked to the bathroom. Once inside she washed her face, brushed her teeth and her hair all one handed. That was not very easy. She did not want to have to do everything one handed until her arm was healed. This was going to suck. She was going to need to ask how she is supposed to shower. She sort of remembered that she was not supposed to get the stupid cast wet.

Sansa didn't feel like getting dressed yet so she went down stairs to the kitchen to have breakfast in her jammies and slippers. She knew that the pill her mother had given her would make her sick if she didn't eat something and fast.

"Oh Sansa you poor thing. Just look at that arm. You just sit down and I will get you some waffles and tea." Mrs. Clark bustled about getting the things for her favorite Stark ready. "When I heard about you're your poor arm I knew that I had to make you your favorite breakfast."

"You are the best Mrs. Clark. To amazing for words." Sansa's blushed and sat waiting for her tea. "What do I do when I need to take a shower?"

"Wrap it with plastic wrap." Jon said as he walked into the kitchen all groomed and ready for the day. He was an early bird as well. "Just be glad that it was not your leg. You would have to put a garbage bag over your leg and hang it out the side of the shower. It is a pain in the ass."

"Well thank goodness that Joffery didn't shove my lower half over the flower pot." Sansa tried to joke.

Jon was not amused as he sat beside her at the bar. She saw the vein pulsating in his neck. He was not a fan of her boyfriend, none of her brothers were. But they all liked Arya's. It was not fair that they liked that guy of hers, either of them for that matter and hated hers. She knew that they were not far off the mark on that point, but she didn't like to admit it.

"Jon is this whole broken arm thing going to make Arya not want to continue to talk to me because Joffery was the one that shoved me?" Out of everyone in the family Jon would be the best person to tell her the truth. Bran would be next but he was in deep shit and she didn't want to join him there.

"Probably. If you dump that guy you are seeing I think that she would start talking to you again." Jon took a sip of his coffee flirting with Mrs. Clark. "You make the best coffee in the world Mrs. Clark. I have really missed your cooking. Are you sure that you do not want to elope with me?"

"Jon that is no way to talk to a woman. I am old enough to be your grandmother." Mrs. Clark blushed and gave him his waffles.

The two Starks in the kitchen were eating in happy quiet when their parents and Robb, Arya, Theon and Rickon filed into the room. They were all chatting and talking and the noise level rose to a happy family level. Her brothers all made sure she was okay and her littlest wanted to sign the cast. Her mother handed him a marker telling him that it was permanent and that she had to be careful not to mark anything but the cast.

Her parents and Robb were chatting in hushed voices when Rickon points at Arya and yells out "What is that bruise on your neck Arya?"

All conversation stopped and everyone turned to look at Arya.

"It's nothing Rickon." Her sister blushed and would not look at anyone.

"Is that a hickey Arya?" Her mother demanded.

"No mom. It's not. I think it might have happened last night at the gig. Things were pretty rough there. Jon was there. There would have been no time for that to happen. Go on, ask Jon if he left us alone long enough for a hickey to happen." Arya's voice was high pitched and on the defensive.

Their father folded down the corner of his paper and looked at Jon. Jon shrugged.

"I did not let her out of my sight, even when she and Gendry thought that they were alone." Jon said, but Sansa didn't believe him. He would help Arya get away with murder and not tell a soul.

"So Sansa Joffery broke your arm?" Arya asked, trying to deflect the heat from herself.

"It was an accident. He did not mean to do that to me. I do not need to be defending his actions." Sansa said, holding her chin up defiantly.

"Rickon go get Bran." Catelyn said trying to defuse the tension.

"Yes mommy. I can do that." Rickon chirped.

"And Rickon make sure he comes down fast and doesn't lie in bed. Talk his ear off." Theon said.

"If there is anyone that can do that it would be Rickon." Ned laughed as he went back to reading the paper.

The kitchen stayed silent waiting for Bran to come in. When he came in the kitchen a nasty smell entered with him. It was a strained time while Bran ate. Sansa let her mind think out a plan on how to break up with Joffery. But there was a small nagging part of her mind that reminded her that he had been different the last few days. He had been nice and sweet to her after she had given him that gift. Acting like a real boyfriend. Maybe she was jumping the gun. He could be changing and if she broke things off with him she would never know. She had to talk with someone, someone who would give her advice. She would talk to her father. He was the one that would know what to do.

"When father is done with Bran I would like to see him. Is he going to be busy all day mother?" Sansa asked as she walked her dishes to the sink. Her father and Bran had just left the room.

"It shouldn't take him too long to talk with Bran dear. So you should be able to get some time with him after that. How is your arm dear?" Her mother asked yet again.

"It is feeling better mother. Thank you." She sat back down and chatted with Mrs. Clark about what they were going to have for dinner and the upcoming trip to the store. She waited twenty minutes and then went to find her father. She was sure that he was done giving her brother a hard time.

"Father Can I ask you a question?" She asked poking her head around the door.

"I wanted to talk to you Sansa. Thank you for coming to see me before I had to go find you. Come on in and make yourself comfortable." Ned said.

"I wanted to talk to you about how to break up with a guy. I figured that since you are a guy you would know the best way to do that." She felt slightly silly for asking him this.

"If I was the one doing the breaking up I would tell the truth. It isn't always the easiest thing to do, but it is the best. Why do you want to break things off with Joffery?" Ned asked trying to hide his glee and curiosity.

"I just do not think that he is the guy that I want to be dating. I mean we don't have anything in common." She said, lying again.

"Is that the only reason? Because I think that things might be more complicated than that for you. You did say some things while on the pain meds last night. You were very clingy to Sandor. I like that guy. I would be happy if you decided to date him." Ned watched as her daughters cheeps turned pink.

"I do not think that I will be dating anyone after I break up with Joffery. I just have to be honest? That's all I have to do?" She asked.

"As far as I am concerned." Ned looked her in the eyes and then continued. "But you have to be careful. Joffery has a temper. I do not want the other arm to be broken. Just be safe dear."

"I will daddy. When should I do this? Should I do it fast or wait till he does something that really causes us to have a reason? Because he really has been making an effort to be a good boyfriend this last week. If things keep going that way then I don't want to break up with him." Sansa confessed.

"You will need to decide that on your own. It is not something that I can tell you." He said.

"Okay, thanks daddy. For everything." She smiled at him and he went back to work.

She walked out of the room and went to her bedroom. She sat down and checked her phone and saw that there were calls from Margaery, most of the girls on her squad and Sandor. There was no call from Joffery. She was sitting on the bed thinking about the best day to break up with him when the phone rang. It was Joffery.

"Sansa it's me. I am so sorry that I broke your arm. I didn't mean to hurt you. I had champagne in my eyes and it was burning and stinging and I didn't realize that I had pushed you that hard. I really didn't. I want you to know that I did not mean to hurt you at all. I want to make it up to you. Do you want to go to dinner with me? We can go to the restaurant that Loras owns, High Gardens? It is on the coast and the view is beautiful. I want to take you there. Not only as an apology but as a romantic date. What do you say? Will you come with me? I could hurt myself for causing you more pain. That wasn't me last night. Say yes Sansa, say yes." He sounded so eager and anxious to hear her answer she felt something akin to like creeping over her.

"I think I can do that. I will ask my parents, but I don't think there will be a problem with that." She said.

"Great. I will come pick you up at eight." He said, without any of the smugness or gloating that she had become accustomed to in his voice.

"Alright. See you then." She hung up the phone and leaned back on her bed. "What am I going to do now?" She asked out loud to no one at all.

Arya

She felt so embarrassed that her family had seen the hickey on her neck. She had thought that the shirt was going to cover it up. She had been wrong and now she felt like an idiot. She had done such a good job hiding it from them before, it was now just a small shape, but Gendry probably made it darker last night. She was going to kill Gendry and then bring him back to life and kill him again.

As soon as she got to her room she called him and started to yell at him.

"You stupid dumbass. You redid the hickey on my neck!" She shrieked into the phone.

"Do you know what time it is?" He sounded like he was still sleeping.

"It is nine in the morning. And you should get your ass out of bed and so something with yourself." She snapped. "I am going to kill you and dance on your dead body! My little brother pointed it out at breakfast and I was caught with a hickey!"

"Calm down. I will not leave another one on you where anyone will be able to see it." She could hear the smile on his lips as he said that last remark.

"No visible marks. Rule one. Rule two; I am not a play thing. I am an independent person and I have a brain. So let me do things my way. Rule three; you do not let the groupies that I know you have flocking around you touch you in any way. If so I will personally strangle you and whoever it is that is playing grab ass with you. Rule four…" Arya was just hitting her stride when there was a knock on her door. "There is someone at my door I'll call you back."

"I will make my own rules in the time that it takes you to get back to me." He yawned into the phone.

"Fine." She hung up the phone and went and opened the door to her room. Her mother was waiting on the other side of the door.

"Arya I think it is time that we have a talk." Catelyn came into to room and sat down at the desk chair. "Please sit down. This is a conversation that might make you uncomfortable, but it is necessary now that you are in a relationship."

Arya sat on the bed horrified because she knew want was coming up. Her mother was going to give her the sex talk. Oh god this was going to be uncomfortable.

"You are now at a point in your life where you are starting to feel things. Feelings for the opposite sex," Arya opened her mouth to interrupt her mother but Catelyn held up her hand. "Do not interrupt me Arya. This is not easy for me either. I know that you know the basics due to the health and biology classes that you have taken, for which I am thankful of. But there are things that you do not know."

"Mom I know about safe sex. I know we are supposed to only learn about abstinence, but Winterfell taught us about birth control and condoms and everything in between." Arya said.

"I was not going to tell you about how to prevent pregnancy. I knew that you knew that already. We had to sign a release for you to take that class remember?" Catelyn snapped.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that." Arya continued to fidget.

"This was so much easier with your sister." Catelyn sighed and rubber her eyes. "What I want to tell you is that when you do have sex, and I am not going to kid myself like your father and believe that you and Gendry are not going to try it, I want you to know that sex is not just about the boy. It is not all about his satisfaction. My mother did not tell me this and I wish that she had. What I am trying to impart on you is that you need to make sure that you get sexual satisfaction as well."

"Are you trying to say to make sure that I get an orgasm, not just the guy?" Arya was shocked. Her mother was telling her that she was okay with her having sex and that she should make sure that she had pleasure as well.

"Yes this is what I am saying." Catelyn said. "My mother did not tell me this and the first few times I had sex it was just about the guy, not about me. Then I had a friend tell me that sex could be fun. I made a decision that if I had girls I would not let them have to learn what I did the hard way."

"So you want me to go out there and have sex with my boyfriend and not only that, but you are telling me that it is a good time and that I should strive to have orgasms? Don't get me wrong mom, but this is not what I was expecting." Arya said to her mother.

"I know that. Here is where the stereo typical mother talk comes in. I would prefer that you wait to have sex until you are older, but if you do I will not be angry." She looked at the shocked look on Arya's face and smiled. "You have brothers for that. But I do wish that you would be safe and not do anything stupid. Use a condom and I will get you a prescription for the pill, the pill will stop pregnancy and a condom will stop you from getting an STD."

"Okay mom. I will do that. Is this talk over now? And if it is do I have to hug you, like I know Sansa would have hugged you." Arya looked her mother in the eye and she looked back at her.

"No we do not have to hug. I will leave you alone to think about things. And if you want to call Myrcella and talk things over her I would not mind. I feel like she is going to become a foster daughter." Catelyn smiled and she started for the door. She turned back right before leaving and said something worse. "Arya I like Gendry. He is good looking. I remember what I felt the first time with your father. I hope you two have as good a time together, like your father and I still do." She left her daughter to herself.

Arya sat there for a moment not sure what to do. She was shocked and disgusted to hear her parents still had sex. You'd think after seven kids they would just stop. But on another level she was pleased. Her mother had given Arya her blessing to have sex. Never in a million years would she have expected that! She was sure what her mom said was true. Her dad would probably deny the fact that she would, at some point, have sex with Gendry. But her mother said it was cool, as long as she got to feel good too. That was just shocking. After she felt the shock wear off she picked up her phone and texted Myrcella.

_My mom just told me that she was more or less okay with me having sex and that when I do to make sure Gendry gives me an orgasm. Then she tells me to share this info with you, not the part about Gendry giving you an orgasm, just about getting one when you have sex. Is that weird or is it just me? –Arya_

_Oh my GODS! Your mom is so cool. Did she offer any tips? I mean sex is great, but sometimes I felt like Aegon and I were just making it up as we went along. –Myrcella_

_She didn't offer tips and I didn't ask. It was weird enough. I guess you will just have to figure it out on your own. –Arya_

_Oh more fun! When I find something that works I'm giving you the info. I still can't believe your mom told you that! If my mom knew I'm having sex I'd be put under house arrest and Aegon murdered. Again your mom is the coolest ever! –Myrcella _

_I guess so. I have to go call Gendry. I'm not going to tell him about this talk. But I need to continue yelling at him about a hickey he made and my brother pointed out at breakfast this morning. –Arya_

_Okay. I'm going to call Aegon. We have research to do! I'm doing it all in the name of science! –Myrcella _

_Arya smiled at her best friend's last comment and decided now was a good time to call her boyfriend back._

**A:N The 'talk' between Arya and Cat were almost the same one my mom gave me at 16. I think it is something important all women should remember when sex is involved. That said I hope you liked this update. **


	20. Dates

Arya

She was still feeling strange from the talk that she had just had with her mother. She had talked about all the rules with Gendry. It had been an amazing talk. His biggest request was for her to wear her coveralls for shop class all the time with the zipper to her belly button. Like that would happen. She had always thought having a boyfriend would make the relationship different, but with Gendry they were still friends, so it wasn't that big of a deal like she thought.

She did not want to go have to break the news to Jaqen that she had chosen Gendry over him. She did not want to think about destroying her pleasure at using one of the most attractive men that she had ever met in person as a muse. She took her time getting ready. She wanted to look food, but not to good. She chose her outfit with care. Green skinny jeans, black ankle boots, white tee and a black leather jacket. Her hair was pulled back leaving her face clear. She decided to not put on much makeup, just some powder, mascara and Bert's Bees Chap Stick.

She went to the room next to hers and knocked on the door.

"Jon are you still able to come with me to get coffee with Jaqen?" She asked opening into the room.

"Yeah. I can get some reading done. I won't have to sit with you will I?" He knew that she would not care one way or another.

"No that's fine. Let's just go. I want to get this over with as soon as possible." She headed out of the room and down the hall. Jon had to scramble after her to keep up with her.

They got to the front door and they took their fathers car to the coffee shop. There were things that neither Stark could get used to in the South, traffic was one of them. If they would have been back home thing would have taken them fifteen minutes to get to where they were going. Being in LA it took the forty five minutes. They were both angry and agitated when they got to the place that Jaqen had asked to meet her. It then took the ten minutes to find parking. They decided to just park in a parking complex and it cost them thirteen bucks.

Arya was fuming by the time they got into the coffee shop. She spotted Jaqen in a corner booth in the back and waved. Jon hung back but whispered in her ear as he left her.

"I will be at the counter over there talking to the hot coffee girl. If you need me just flip your pony tail." Jon looked at his sister's face and was relieved to see that she had that look of determination in her eye that she used to get when Robb or Theon would tell her that she could not do something that they could.

"Always the protective brother." She laughed giving him a small shove.

"I did tell Gendry that I would watch out for you. And when I give my word I keep it." Jon could be too honorable for his own good sometimes and they both knew it.

She walked over to the counter and ordered a cup of hot water to make tea. She went and grabbed the first tea bag she saw and a hand full of sugar packets and went to get the conversation with Jaqen over with. She walked over to his table and set down her things on the opposite side of the table from him.

"Hello there lovely girl. You look good, as always." He stood when she was near and only took his seat when she did as well.

"Thank you. You look good yourself." She sat and stirred the sugar into the tea. She finally saw that it was a peach ginger tea and it smelled amazing. She let it cool and knew that she was stalling, so did Jaqen.

"Why did you ask me here Arya? And why does Jon keep looking our way?" Jaqen asked in a small voice.

"I have something to tell you. Something that you might not like." She was looking at her cup still stirring it around.

"You have finally made your choice and it is not me. That is what you have come here to tell me." He said looking at her. She looked up at him and his gaze locked on her eyes and held them.

"How did you know?" Arya whispered.

"I knew the moment you walked in. You looked slightly guilty and nervous. I knew that you had to have made a choice soon. I had hoped that it was going to be me." Jaqen's voice was small as he spoke.

"You are going to be leaving soon Jaqen. Three months is not long enough for me. I want a relationship, not a fling." She wrapped her hands around her cup warming her suddenly cold hands.

"Oh lovely girl, time is not an issue when the heart is pure and the intentions are passionate." He reached his hands across the table and used his finger to stroke her hand around the cup.

For some reason that she did not understand she kept her hand where they were and did not pull away from him. The conversation with her mom flashed in her mind and she could see those fingers stroking more then her hand and she could not stop the blush that colored across her face.

"I picked Gendry because he is going to be here with me. You are leaving Jaqen. I had to pick him." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as him.

She did not know why she was saying these things. She liked Gendry. He was sweet, funny, handsome, smart, a great kisser. He was the total package. Hell he even worked on cars and smelled good. He made her feel desired and safe and wanted. That was more then she could ask for.

But looking at Jaqen across the table she could see clearly what she was giving up. She was letting go of tenderness and romance and beauty and art. He could have shown her a different way to see the world, to experience it, feel it, and live it. He was more then different, he was an enigma, but because she had made her choice he was one puzzle she would never be able to discover the answer to.

"You look so lost lovely girl. What is the matter?" His velvety voice shattered her thoughts

"I was just thinking of all the things that I was passing up. It's nothing." She took a sip of her now cold tea. It was still good, but too cold for her. She inked her tea piping hot. R

"You have not passed up anything. I am here and your moment has not passed you by yet. I will wait for you, as long as you want me still." His eyes bore into hers. He ears trying to tell her something with his eyes, but she just couldn't read it. She felt breathless and dizzy.

"I have made my choice Jaqen. I do not want you." She pleaded with her eyes to get him to understand.

"If you did not want me why is your heart racing?" Jaqen demanded.

"It isn't," she lied.

"It is. We both know it. But I will let you think that you do not want me. I will let you think that when you are with The Bull that you will be happy and not wonder what would have been. It is your choice. But I will be here. I will wait until there is no hope. But there is always hope, for those who wait for it. I will not give up. I am a man willing to do whatever it takes to get his prize. I will have it in the end." He stood up from the table and laid his hand on her face. "Farewell lovely girl. I will see you soon."

Arya watched him walk out of the coffee shop. She felt lost and close to tears. Jon came and slid next to her and slung his arm around her shoulder.

"How did it go Little Wolf?" He asked looking at her.

"Worse than I expected. I want to go die now." She leaned her head on his shoulder and let some evil tears escape from her eyes. "Why does being a girl have to suck so much?"

"I don't know. I can't tell you. Being a guy is so much easier." Jon joked. He made her smile so he was not too worried about her. "Let's go home. I bet it will take us an hour. We can look at the pompous jackasses on the street as we drive home and make fun of them. What do you say?"

"Sure Jon. Let's do that. Thanks for being my brother. I love you." She hugged him and they slid out the booth and walked out of the shop.

Gendry

He was not in the best of moods when Hot Pie called and said that they had to meet for an "emergency" band meeting. He had wanted to go over and see Arya. He was worried about how the meeting with Jaqen had gone. The guy was dangerous. The only thing that had kept him from going was the fact that Jon would be there with her.

He also had a few things he wanted to add to the list of rules they had made. He loved that she had rules. The last girl he had tried to date had been to free with her love. He knew that Arya was a one guy kind of girl. He was pleased she was not loose.

He got dressed and drove over to Aegon's big ass house that they were meeting at. The guys were all there and waiting on him.

"About god damn time Gendry. When you are told that there is an emergency with the band and to get your ass over here, you get your ass over here. Is that understood?" Beric yelled when Gendry walked into the room.

"Jesus Beric, keep your shirt on. I am here aren't I?" Gendry shot back.

"Are you? You and Aegon have both been in lala land for way to long. This is not a fucking joke or a game. We are finally making a name for ourselves and you two are too interested in chasing some skirts to give a shit about it." Beric was ramping up for a real yelling fit.

"Beric you are taking this too seriously. We decided to go this for the hell of it, not for money or fame. For the fun of it and the love of music. Remember." Thoros pointed out in a soothing voice.

"Oh shut up Thoros. Stay out of this. These two dumbasses are messing things up." Beric snapped.

"I think that the only one messing things up here is you buddy. Take a chill pill." Hot Pie piped up from behind his drums.

"How can you be so relaxed about this? We have been getting offers to play every weekend and have had to turn them down so that Aegon can have date nights with Myrcella. Or we have missed rehearsals so that Gendry can help Arya on that stupid car. I mean come on guys are you really telling me that that doesn't bother you." Beric looked at Thoros and Hot Pie to see if they agreed with him.

Gendry and Aegon just stood there not knowing what to say. They never in a million years would have guessed that Beric would react to them dating like this. Yes it was true that they had been a little preoccupied, but like Thoros had said they had started out to just have fun and make music.

"What is it that you want Beric?" Gendry asked.

"I just want you, all of you, to start taking this seriously. If we keep going the way we are things could start to take off for us and I don't want to all to be fucked up because of two girls. We are better than that." Beric looked each of his band mates in the eye and tried to look imposing.

"Okay, we can do that. We can start to take things more seriously. But you have to relax a little. No one is going to want to be in a band with a psycho singer." Aegon joked.

Once Beric had calmed down and they had nailed down a schedule that worked for them to rehears during the week they got down to making music. Beric had some new songs for then to learn and they worked on some old ones as well. They joked about Beric stealing the new songs from Arya again and he blushed, leading Gendry to think that he had in fact "borrowed" another one from her. Gendry looked at the lyrics that they had been given and he could not see one that shouted out that Arya had written it. They worked until five and then called it quits. Four out of the five thought that seven hours was more than enough time working on music.

"Remember tomorrow four to six. No matter what. I do not care if your grandmothers are on deaths door and want to see your sorry faces before she kicks the bucket. I want you all here." Beric snapped as he got into his car and drove away.

"Tell me again why we all put up with him?" Gendry asked as they watched Beric's tail lights faded into the night.

"Because he is the real talent of the bunch." Thoros answered.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten." Gendry said. "Night guys. See you tomorrow." He pulled away and drove home.

He parked his car and walked into his empty house. He hated that his mother worked all the time. She was never there to see him. The only way that they communicated was with stick notes on the fridge. He went to see if she had been home to leave a new one for him, but there wasn't one there. He let himself feel the total body engulfing sadness that he had felt since he was a child and there was no note there for him. But then he shook it off and grabbed a soda from the fridge and walked to his room.

He was finally able to look at his phone and saw the texts from Arya. He opened then and saw that they became increasingly annoyed as they went on. There were twelve in all and one from Jon. His was simple all it said was _you are in trouble. Brace yourself._

He had been sitting down for five minutes when there was a pounding on his front door. He jumped up thinking that it was the police coming to tell him that his mother has been in an accident, another fear that he had had since he was small. He reached it and pulled it opened.

"Where the hell have you been all day?" Arya stood on the doorstep of his house looking pissed and ready to kill.

"We had an emergency band meeting. It lasted all day. Beric wouldn't let us call or text. He went all crazy on us and pretty much said it was you and Myrcellas fault. Come on in." Gendry stood back and opened the door wide enough for her to squeeze past him.

She walked into his house as if she owned the place she looked around the small living room and the hallway that led off to the kitchen. She saw the pictures of Gendry as a little boy and smiled at him.

"You were a dorky little boy. All ears and arms. Good thing that you grew out of that." She looked at him as if she was a present for her to open.

"I bet that you looked like a dork as a kid too." He smiled at her as they stood there in in the living room.

"So you weren't ignoring me on your own? You were being held under duress?" She sashayed over to him. She let her jacket slide off her arms and threw it over her shoulder.

"Yeah, Beric is a slave driver when he wants to be." He could not take her eyes off her as she walked towards him.

"You poor baby." She purred as reached him. She slid her arms around his neck. "You need some TLC then." She stood up on her toes and captured his lips like someone would capture the flag.

They stood there in the living room making out for a few minutes. It was starting to get too much for him to bare. He didn't know how long that he could take standing in the living room supporting them both. He grabbed her ass and lifted her up. She slid her legs around his waist and started walking to his room. She started to nuzzle and kiss and lick his neck as he walked. He tried to keep his eyes opened as he walked but they kept fluttering shut every time her tongue slid up from his collar bone up his neck to place her mouth on his ear. He almost ran them into the walls a number of times when she did that sweet delicious trick of hers.

They finally made it to his room and he kicked the door shut. Arya was still clinging to him, legs wrapped around his waist with a vise like grip. She giggled as he staggered to the bed and fell onto it on his back so as not to crush her. She sat up straddling him and looked down at him.

"So this is your room? You could really use a new coat of paint on the walls." She suggested as she looked around.

Gendry made an animal growl and flipped Arya onto her back. She giggled again and tried to wiggle out from under him.

"Don't insult my room. I like the color of my walls." He tried his hardest to look stern and angry but her laughing and the extra-large grin on her face made it difficult for him to do.

He leaned back down and assaulted her mouth for more kissing. He was in rapture at having her there in his room, on his bed. He let his hands slide down her body from her shoulders to cup her breast. He wanted to go under her shirt but did not want to frighten her away. He continued to kiss, lick and suck at her mouth and she bit and nipped and fought with his tongue. His hand continued to massage her breast and small moans escaped her. She looped one of her legs over his hip and crushed him down to her holding her to him.

He was getting more aroused with every passing moment. He wanted to go further, but was unsure that she was alright with it. Her hands flittered across his back and went up under his shirt. She was lifting her shirt higher and higher exposing more skin. He got the hint that she wanted it off. He lifted off her shirt and started to tug at his shirt and pulled it off and threw it to the floor. While she was busy with his shirt she ripped hers off as well. She leaned up and claimed his mouth before he got a good look at her. She was so hot to the touch. He let his hands roam over her body.

She shudder and ran her nails down his back. He hissed with the pain and moved his mouth down her body to the hallow between her breasts. He licked his tongue in the hallows and slid his hand under her bra. She arched her back and gasped.

"No marks. My shirts will show." She panted.

He smiled, knowing that he was going to ignore her rule. He was too turned on to stop marking her as his and lifted her bra out of the way. He found the base of her left breast and left his mark on her there. She gave a small yelp and pulled away from him.

"What was that?" She barked.

"A love mark. I marked you and no one will be seeing it there." He smiled at her and kissed down her flat stomach.

"How do you know?" She lifted her eyebrow.

He dropped back down to assault her breast again this time going for the nipple. Arya sucked in her breath in a delicious moan. She kept her leg locking their hips together and ground herself into him, causing him to groan. Her small nimble hands worked down to his belt and clumsily worked to unbuckle it. Once he realized what she was attempting to do he tried harder to make things more difficult for her just to tease her. Gendry slid his hand that was not cupping the breast that he was licking and flicking her nipple with his tongue creped down her toned stomach to run his fingers around the top of her jeans. He worked at the first button of her pants free and she got agitated and pushed his hand away from her and refocused her attention on him. She unbuckled his pants and slid her hand inside and grabbed his very hard, very erect penis. He shook and shivered and moved his lips to her mouth.

She started stroking him, he was close to exploding and what Arya was doing was not what he had expected her to do. Gendry knew that she was inexperienced and that this was all new to her, but there she was this cheeky little minx giving him a hand job. And he was still wearing his jeans!

She leaned up and nibbled on his ear and her other hand grabbed his and returned to her right breast. He was massaging her with a distracted manner, to focus on what Arya was doing to his stiff cock. Some how she had wiggled his jeans to his knees without him noticing. She ran her nails over his legs and he shuddered. He felt that he was ready to blow but he fought the urge. She arched her back and he captured one of her nipples in her mouth and she whispered his name. That is when he lost it. He felt like there had been an explosion. He felt his desire spill onto their stomachs and Arya's hand. He was still crouched over her and collapsed on top of her. She snuggled her body to him. Kissed his neck.

"That was fun. I think I enjoyed that." She giggled from underneath him.

He raised his head and looked at her with a glazed look in his eye.

"You enjoyed that?" He was confused.

"Yes. I really did. My mother was so wrong. Sometimes it is enough to give the guy his pleasure without anything in return." She smirked at him but the joke was lost on him.

"I really do not want to be talking about your mother when your hand is on my dick. And who said that we were done?" He raised his brow and she took that as an opportunity to capture her mouth with his.

He loved how they reacted together. He was not going to let her walk away from him without feeling the relief she had given him. He slowly slid her pants away from her body, kissing his way as he removed her jeans from her body.

"I'm ready to return the favor." He said in a husky tone. She was there on his bed in nothing but her underwear.

"Gendry, I think we should wait to, well to have sex, forma while at least. There are things I need to do first." Arya looked up at him, nervous for the first time the whole day.

He leaned down and kissed her softly. He didn't want to go to fast for her. He lay down beside her and gathered her to him.

"We won't do anything you don't want to do. I swear we will keep this barrier on you." He traced the tops of her underwear. "But I would like to kiss you, all over, to say thank you." He pressed kisses to her lips, eyelids, jaws. She smiled at him.

"Just kissing?" She asked when his mouth found her neck.

"For as long as you want." He kissed her stomach and she giggled.

They spent the rest of their day just kissing, laughing and talking. Gendry was still amazed that she was now his.

Sansa

She looked at the clock and it was six. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and groaned. She had tried to take a shower with the cast and it was one of the more difficult things that she had ever done. How her brothers had done this with casts on their legs and arms she had no idea how they managed to do it. Her shoulder was sore from holding it out of the water. She was tired and all she wanted to do was sleep.

She was going to cancel on the date that Joffery had planned. There was no way that she was going to be able to go out and be charming. She reached for her phone, then put it down, then picked it up again. She set it back down and stood up. She picked up the phone again and walked out of her room in search for Robb.

She found him in the media room with Theon and Jon watching college football bowl games. They had chips and beers and were yelling at the TV as the ref had just called a dump penalty on their team.

"Robb." She called out as the guys started yelling at the TV again. He didn't hear her. "Robb!" She shouted. This time he heard her.

"Hey there sis. What's up?" He asked looking at the TV and not at her.

"Can I talk with you out in the hall?" She requested, feeling timid and nervous about what she was going to ask him.

"Sure. This game is sucking anyways." He took a swig from the beer in front of him and walked out of the room with her. "What is going on Sans?"

"I need you to pretend to be dad. Can you tell Joffery that I am to sick from the pain meds and too tired from being in the ER all night to go out with him tonight." She felt bad for fooling Joffery, but this was the best solution to her problem.

"You want me to pretend to be dad? You Saint Sansa want me to deceive your boyfriend? Wow." Robb smiled and just looked at her.

"Everything that you tell him would be more or less the truth. I just don't have the energy to tell him myself today." Sansa shuffled her feet and would not look Robb in the eye.

"You do look like hell. I wouldn't want to sit across from you while eating all night." Robb tried to joke with her but she was not abused. She gave him a look that their mother had been giving to him since he was two and caught in the fridge eating all the strawberry jam in the middle of nap time.

"Will you just make the call for me Robb? I never ask you for anything, not when it comes to relationships. And I have pretended to be mom for you before so you could get out of dates before. You owe me." She snapped. She was not in the mood for her brother to be cute and funny. Her arm hurt, she was tired and she just wanted to curl up on her bed and watch Titanic for the hundredth time and to read Pride and Prejudice.

"Whoa there tiger, I'll do it. I will. Give me the phone." Sansa handed her brother the phone and he dialed Jofferys number. "Joffery? This is Ned, Sansa's father. Yes, yes everything is okay. She is just not feeling to well, after last night she is just to tired and having a bad reaction to the medication that they gave her. She doesn't want to cancel, but as her father I feel that it is my duty to supersede on her behalf. Yes, yes. Okay. Thank you so much. Yes I understand. I will let her know. No, she is sleeping right now. I will tell her. Alright then good bye Joffery." Robb had made his voice deeper as he talked to Joffery. He had hung up the phone and looked at Sansa smiling, proud of his performance.

"That was good Robb. You sounded just like dad. I am impressed." She smiled and took her phone back.

"I have been playing dad for Jon and Theon for years." He smirked at her. "That was a piece of cake."

"Thanks Robb." She hugged him and walked back to her room.

She decided that since she was not going out she could slip into her most comfy sweats and an over large tee. She popped her Titanic DVD into her computer and pressed play then got her battered copy of Pride and Prejudice from her book shelf and snuggled into her blanket for some comfort time.

She had barely gotten five pages into the book and fifteen minutes into the movie when her phone started ringing. It was Joffery and she decided not to answer it, pretending to be asleep like Robb had told him she was.

She was three chapters into the book and Rose had tried to jump off the ship and her text alert sounded.

_Sansa are you okay? I got a call from your father and I got worried about you. Let me know that you are okay. –Joffery_

She decided to not reply and get back to the two epic love stories that she was trying to unsuccessfully escape in. Her mind kept flip flopping as to who was the leading man in her love story. Was it Joffery, her boyfriend, or Sandor her best friend here? If she was honest the answer was simple: Sandor. He was sweet, romantic, smart. He knew what she liked and what she didn't. He had always been there for her since the first moment that they had met at the welcome party at the Baratheon's house. He had saved her a number of times since as well. If she had to pick a leading guy out of her choices between Jack and Mr. Darcy he would be Jack. But Joffery could not be Mr. Darcy; he was more like Mr. Wickham, but even that wasn't good enough. He was like Cali, just like him. She needed someone to save her from him.

Her phone buzzed again. She looked at it and it was another text, it was not Joffery this time, it was Sandor.

_Hi there gimp. I just wanted to see how you are feeling. –Sandor_

It was just like him to check up on her. She smiled and decided that she would text him back.

_I am sore and tired. Did I thank you enough? I am really thankful to you for saving me. –Sansa_

_You did. I told you already that it was nothing. I am just glad that you are okay. Joffery said that you were not feeling well and that your dad had to call and cancel on him. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. –Sandor_

_I was just really tired and wanted to watch a movie and read a book in my jammies. It was actually Robb who called Joffery, pretending to be my dad. I feel so guilty. –Sansa_

_You wild one you. I am shocked that you did that. I'm impressed. What are you reading and watching? –Sandor_

_They are both ultra girly and sappy and favorites of mine. Titanic and Pride and Prejudice. –Sansa_

She didn't think it possible but she was blushing redder then her cast and felt embarrassed.

_Wow that is super sappy and girly. You must really be feeling bad. Those sound like they could give a girl some unrealistic stereotypes for a man to live up to. If you were my girlfriend I don't know what I would do. –Sandor_

_If I was your girlfriend I would make you watch this movie with me and have in-depth discussions on Lizzy and Mr. Darcy until I was feeling better. -Sansa_

_Well if that's what you wanted to do why didn't you invite Joffery to do that tonight?-Sandor_

_Because Joffery is no Jack. He is just like Cal. Nice on the outside but dark on the inside. –Sansa_

She hoped that he would not get the reference.

_I don't know who those people are. I have to admit that I have not seen Titanic and haven't read or watched any of the Pride and Prejudice movies. I hope that doesn't put a black mark in your book for me. –Sandor_

They were flirting! She liked flirting with Sandor. He was fun to flirt with. She could do this all night long. She had not seen this side to Sandor before. He was carefree and funny. The only other time that she had seen him this relaxed and funny was when they went star gazing.

_Well then we will have to remedy that someday. I decree that you will watch this movie with me. At least Titanic. It is the best love story of all times. –Sansa_

_But everyone dies at the end. How is that a love story? –Sandor_

_How did you know that everyone dies? –Sansa_

_It's been in the history books for the last hundred years. It was a major accident. You see in real life there was a ship called the Titanic and it hit an ice burgee and people died. I am surprised that you didn't know that. –Sandor_

_You do not have to be such a smart ass. I know that the ship really sunk. When did you become such a smart ass? –Sansa_

_I always have been. I am just really good at hiding it. You should get some rest. Take one of your pain pills and go to bed. –Sandor_

_And bossy too. You are a bossy smart ass. But I will take your advice and get some rest. My arm is throbbing. Talk to you later. And we are watching Titanic one of these days. –Sansa_

_Whatever you say. Now go to sleep. –Sandor_

She put the phone down snuggled into her pillows. She took one of the pills the doctor had given her and let it lull her into sleep. She was going to have sweet dreams tonight she hoped. Dreams of Sandor and dancing and laughter and fun. Or dreams of stars and touches and kisses and more, so much more.

The pills kicked in as she finally got into a position she could sleep. She was still thinking when the first images of her dreams came to her. She was standing at the end of a long aisle, her father bested her. She was in an elegant antic dress of white. All her family was there smiling. Then she looked to the end and there Sandor stood. He was in a tux. Her father opened his mouth to ask a question, but she was now too much into sleep to know what he would say.

Myrcella

Aegon had come by her house to pick her up to go to the movies on their date. Her mother had stalked out of the room when she had heard the motorbike pull up to the door. Myrcella hoped that someday her mother would get over the harsh feelings she harbored for Aegon punching Joffery.

"Father," she called out to him in his den. It was more like a bar with a desk in it. "Father, Aegon is here to take me to the movies. Mother knows that I will be leaving but I wanted you to know as well."

"Huh? Oh yes Myrcella, have a good time." Robert sat in a chair by his fire place looking at a picture.

She quickly walked away from her father and made it to the door before anyone could come and stop her. She bolted out the door and flew to Aegon. She crushed him in a bear hug. She buried her nose into his neck and breathed in the smell of him. She loved the way that he smelled. Like soap and surf and dirt and wind.

"Did you miss me My Cella?" He pulled back and gave her a soft kiss.

"I always miss you when we are not together." She snuggled into him. "How was your day?"

"Horrible. I will tell you about it later, but we are going to be late for the movie if we don't leave now." He reached for their bike helmets and handed the one he bought for Myrcella to her.

"Okay." She mumbled as she stuffed her head into the helmet.

Aegon swung onto the bike and she slid on behind him, pressing her body to his for warmth and the need to feel his body touching hers. They were going to an old movie theater that showed old black and white movies. She had to watch a movie set during WWII made in WWII for her history class then write an essay about how films kept moral up for the people off fighting and those who stayed home. It took her a week to find one that was in theaters so that she and Aegon could go out on a date to watch it together. She finally found one, Casablanca. Neither she nor Aegon had seen it so they were looking forward to it.

They made it just in time. He parked his bike right in front of the theater and ran up to the ticket booth. Aegon practically threw the money at the ticket girl and snatched the tickets out of her hand. Myrcella dragged him in to the concession counter where they got their sodas and popcorn and red vines and scrambled to get in for the start of the movie. They slid into some seats by the door just as the lights dimmed ant the projector flicked to life. A big black and white globe filled the screen and the voice over started.

Aegon and Myrcella hunkered down to watch the movie. Myrcella did enjoy it, she really did. There was something to tragic about their love story, but that must have been the point. Myrcella was openly weeping when Rick put Elsa onto the plane. Aegon had his arm around her and was wiping the tears off her cheek.

"Here's looking at you kid." He whispered to her as he took the last tear off her face and placed a small kiss on his lips when the movie ended. She smiled up at him and they shared another kiss, this time deeper and filled with love and devotion to one another. They stood and went into the lobby of the theater and they watched as older couples walked out behind them.

They strolled out hand in hand into the cold night to get on the bike. She was glad that she had on insulated layers and a warm jacket. Aegon got on and started the bike and she hopped on behind him. Her legs squeezed his sides and she held onto him as if she was an extension of him.

They had agreed on Mexican food for dinner. He took her to hole in the wall place that was family run and all the food was authentic. They sat there and talked about what had happened to Aegon that day.

"So Beric calls us all to meet and yelled at Gendry and me about how we are destroying the dynamic of the group by having girlfriends." Aegon told her as he cut his stake enchiladas.

"So it is mine and Arya's fault that you guys suck?" Myrcella laughed as she spread salsa over her Chili Rellenos. "He must hate us."

Aegon just sat there and watched as she piled on more hot sauce. She finally realized that he was watching her make her food almost too spicy for safe human consumption. Myrcella liked spicy food and always went over board when it came to hot things. That is why she had asked for a glass of milk with her meal.

"What?" She demanded.

"You must like hot things. No wonder you fell for me." He gave her a cocky grin as he looked at her.

"I like spicy things. You are spicy when you want to be." She murmured as she cut into her meal. He watched as she took a bite and closed her eyes as the delicious heat from the spicy food filled her up.

"So me and food make you moan like that." Aegon laughed as she opened her eyes.

She blushed and looked down to her plate. They ate in silence enjoying the food. When they were half way done with the meal Myrcella filled him in on what had happened to Sansa.

"When Margaery said that it was something that had been spilled on Joffery that caused him to shove Sansa into the stone flower pot I felt so guilty. It was because of me and Arya that she got hurt. Should I tell her? I mean it was Joffery that pushed her, but if it had not been for us then he wouldn't have pushed her." She confessed to Aegon.

"It was not your fault. Your brother is a dip shit. It was just a matter of time before he hurt her." Aegon assured her.

"But I hate that I was the underlining reason to her getting hurt." Myrcella really did feel guilty about the whole thing. But she felt guilty if she got a better grade in a test then Arya in a class. She was just a person who felt guilt about everything.

Aegon reached across the table and took her hand. "It is alright. It was really your brother's fault. How is your dinner?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"It is really good. Where did you find this place? Don't tell me that you used to work here too?" She joked.

"No I never worked here. My childhood nanny's family owns this place. I did spend a lot of time here as a kid." He looked around the place fondly.

"Are you always going to bring me to places that you have an emotional tie to when we go out on all our dates?" She demanded in mock anger.

"If you want to have the best food that my cheap ass can buy you, then yes." He fired back. He scowled at her but she could only smile.

"I love that you bring me to places that mean something to you. I just hope you don't do this with all the girls." She grumbled lightly as she took another amazing bite of the fantastic food. The rest of the date went great after that. They laughed and told stories about when they were young.

When they paid for the check and left the restaurant after Argon was hugged by most of the staff.

"If you get hugs on every date that we go on by other women I am going to break up with you." She taunted him and he knew it.

"You would throw me out like I was trash just because I am popular? I am shocked that you would be so shallow like that. You are such a horrible person." He gasped in mock hurt and horror.

"You bet I would. And I wouldn't think twice about it. I will forget the fact that you are amazing in bed. I can be a very jealous girl when I want to be." She smiled wickedly at him. "It is getting late and my mother has enough reason to hate you enough, I don't want her to hate you even more."

They got back on the bike and drove her back to her house. They were saying good bye and having one last kiss when her phone sounded. She ignored it and stood there kissing her boyfriend instead.

"Thank you for coming with me to the movies and for taking me out to dinner. I love going out on dates like this with you." She kissed him again.

"I had a good time. That Ingrid Bergman was hot." He gave her a cocky smile and pulled her to him again for another kiss. His lips were hovering over hers when her phone rang again.

"Oh damn it. That's my mom's ring tone. I bet that she is watching us right now. I have to go." She gave him a fast peck on the lips before skipping into the house. As soon as she was inside the house she was assaulted by a drunk mother.

"I will not have you putting on a show for the staff with your boyfriend in the drive way of my house young lady. Is that understood? You are not a common whore for that trash to use and abuse." Her mother's voice lashed out, demolishing her amazing evening.

Myrcella just stood there in the doorway watching her mother as she downed her gin and tonic.

"And another thing, if you are going to act like a whore I would prefer you to not do it in theaters or Mexican restaurants." Cerise slurred as she turned and walked up the stairs on unsteady feet.

Myrcella just stood there in the doorway in shock. Her mother not only called her a whore, but was having her followed when she went out with Aegon.

"Myrcella, glad to see that you are home Princess. How was your date?" Robert asked when he walked from his den to his office. He must have heard his wife's voice, but waited until she was gone to come out. But at least he was there, in some way, for her.

"It was a good date daddy." Her voice shook and she started to cry feeling her mother's betrayal cut deep into her heart.

"Princess what is it? Did that boy hurt you?" Robert demanded making his way over to his distressed daughter.

"No it was not Aegon, it was mom. She is horrible." She sobbed as her father embraced her.

"Damn that woman. Look Princess forget about her. You are a much better person then she ever will be. If Aegon makes you happy then don't let your mother or your brother or even god get in the way of that. Fuck them. Now stop that crying. I do not like it when I see my princess crying." Robert wiped her tears and smiled at her.

"Okay, thank you daddy." She smiled up at her father and realized that for the first time in a long time her father was not drunk. "I love you." She hugged him.

"I love you too Princess." He kissed her on the head and made his way to his office.

She was feeling better after her father's gave her his little pep talk. She took her phone out of her pocket as it chimed again.

_My mom was so right. –Arya_

_About what? Did you and Gendry have sex? –Myrcella_

_No, but before today I never would have dreamed that a hand or a mouth could bring pure bliss. –Arya_

_It is heaven my friend, pure heaven. Hey talk to you later. I have history home work to do. –Myrcella _

_Yeah. Sure. Night! –Arya_

Myrcella walked to her room and flopped down on the bed. She wanted to know why her mom was having her followed, why her mother hated Aegon so much. She sat up and took out her phone and sent a text to Aegon. It was simple and to the point.

_I sure as fuck love you. –Myrcella_

Then she went to work on her paper. She poured her emption into the epic love story of Ilsa and Rick and what true sacrifice was. She worked on it late into the night, music blaring so loud she thought it would shake the house. It was all songs that Aegon and the band had done. Part of her choice in music was because her boyfriend was in the band and the other reason was because she liked them.

She had been so wrapped up in her work she had not noticed, three hours later, that Aegon had replied.

_I love you too. Until the wheels fall of! - Aegon_

She smiled at the thing at the end. It was their saying. That they would love each other until the wheels fell off. It was their code for forever. She went over and scooped her stuffed dragon up inch her arms and hugged him. She got ready for bed then and snuggled into the covers after she changed and brushed her teeth. She willed herself of dreaming of Aegon that night and she wasn't disappointed.


	21. Fixing The Problem

Jaqen

He had felt a crushed and defeated when Arya had told him of her choice. Then she had sat there across from him and he saw that she was not convinced that she had made the right choice. He still had a chance; there was still a glimmer of hope for him. She was still attracted to him. That was all he needed, the in that he could use to drive a wedge between the two of the love birds.

He drove home and went to his studio. He wanted to destroy everything. But that would be foolish. Now these paintings were all he had of her. He sat in the middle of the room and looked at all the Arya's he had made. She was smiling, laughing, angry, sad, every emotion he had seen flow across her face had ended up on the canvas.

He wanted her. He needed her. He would just have to make her change her mind. He would not make her cheat, but break things off with the bastard Waters. Then he would be there, never to far from her. She would come to him. In the end they would be together.

"Varys I have a favor to ask you." Jaqen had called to ask after he had collected his thoughts.

"Anything for you Jaqen. I am here to serve." His voice had floated over the phone as smooth as oil.

"I need you to call the school and get in to be a guest lecturer in the advanced art class." He had told Varys.

"And why would I grace your pitiful sec pool of a high school with my magnificent presence?" Varys sounded both annoyed and intrigued.

"I have a little issue. Arya has made a decision on who she wants to be with. It seems that she has chosen the Bull. But I am not giving up yet. There is still hope." Jaqen sounded so sure that Arya still had feelings for him.

"Ah, Miss Stark, your muse. I see why you want her in your life. She is something special. What is it that you had in mind?" Varys' voice had a malicious lit to it that implied his eagerness and his willingness to be complicit to Jaqen's schemes.

Jaqen had outlined his plan to Varys and they plotted the best way to get his plan into action and Arya Stark to Jaqen's side.

Vacation ended and Jaqen and Varys stood in the art classroom talking to the teacher when the rest of the students slowly filtered into the room. Jaqen was watching the door waiting for Arya to arrive. In true Arya fashion she rocketed into the room right as the bell rang and had to double over to catch her breath. She rolled up from her crouching position vertebra by vertebra and her eyes alighted on Jaqen. He held her gaze for several moments until the teacher called the class to attention.

"Ladies and gentleman I would like to introduce you to Varys, the artist. He has agreed to teach the advanced classes some techniques for you all to learn. I will let you take the floor now Varys and explain your lesson for the next week." The teacher fell back to her desk and she sat down and pulled out some cheese smut novel and tuned out the rest of the class.

"Hello there students. As your teacher has said I am Varys, just Varys. No mister, no other name. I am here today to show you all how to draw still life and people. We will be starting on the human form and it will be in charcoal today. And we have the privilege to have with us an amazing model here to help us out today. Jaqen has volunteered to let you fellow students draw his exquisite likeness for free. Now we will be working on nude drawings so that you all can learn how to draw and show the human body." Varys' eyes twinkled and he was smiling and rocking on the balls of his feet. "Jaqen will not be completely naked, but he has agreed to leave little to the imagination."

Jaqen had watched as Arya swallowed convulsively at what Varys had said. She was fighting the urge to look Jaqen in the eye. He wanted her to look at him and see him. Jaqen was going to make things so difficult for Arya for the next week as he stood there in front of her in next to nothing.

As the class got ready to start the project Jaqen walked over to where Arya was getting ready.

"Have you ever drawn a still life?" Jaqen had asked her watching her fumble around for her supplies.

"No. I never have drawn still life, or at least not people." She refused to meet his eyes.

"They are not too hard to draw. And it makes it easier when you know the subject that you are working on." He was playing with a paint brush as he was looking at her. She still refused to meet his eye.

"That is good to know." Arya mumbled.

"I have to go get ready to go and get undressed." Jaqen smiled at her one last time seeing the discomfort on her face.

Jaqen walked behind a screen and took all his closes off except for a pair of speedo underwear and walked out to stand on the display. He looked around at the class full of his fellow students. The guys were looking at him with calm detached artistic appreciation, or most of them were. A few questions he had were answered, there were defiantly two boys hiding in the closet. As for the females in the class they were all watching him with bright hungry lust filled eyes, even the teacher had put down her smut book to look at him.

The only person not looking at him was Arya. Her eyes were glued to her paper. She sat and sharpened her charcoal pencil and he let a large grin spread across his face.

"All right students we will be doing a rough outline of the figure today. As the week progresses we will give the drawing more in depth refinement and details. Now which way would be the best way for Jaqen to pose for you all?" Varys looked around the class, and a number of hands shot into the air.

Jaqen was pleased to see that most of his classmates were evaluating him in an artist's perspective. The only person who was not discussing his body position was Arya. She had continued to ignore him.

"Arya how would you pose Jaqen?" Varys inquired of the shy little Arya. He stood there with the tips of his fingers tapping on his lips.

"Um, I don't know. Standing?" She shifted on her stool in obvious discomfort to finally have to look at Jaqen.

"That's very original Arya. Why don't you go and pose Jaqen while the rest of the class gets ready, as you already have done so." Varys commanded.

Arya stood up on shaky legs and walked over to Jaqen. She looked at him and he couldn't stop thinking that his plan was going according to plan. Varys had positioned her to have to touch him. To move his body in to a position that she would enjoy drawing. Her hands were cold as they touched his hot skin. She was hesitant at first and he kept looking at her whenever her little hands made contact with his body.

"Thank you for molding my body into a good position." Jaqen's voice swept down Arias spine. She shivered.

Arya placed him standing but leaning against a half pillar with his left elbow on top and his right arm behind his back. She placed his right foot against the pillar so that it was slightly bent at the knee crossing his left leg. Then she stood back to look at her handy work. Arya's head was cocked to the side and she looked slightly bird like. She nodded her head once then walked over to her work area and sat down and started to draw.

She had positioned him facing her so Jaqen was able to watch her face as she drew him. She was concentrating on what she was doing, but he noted a blush spread across her face when she got to an uncomfortable part of his body that she had to sketch. Then bell rang all too soon for Jaqen's liking and Arya scrambled to clean up her area and then bolted out the door before Jaqen could talk to her.

He felt a hand land on his naked shoulder. He turned his head and looked at the hand and let his eyes travel from the hand to the owner.

"I think that this plan of yours is working out very well my boy. That girl is most defiantly still into you. I expect to see a few new paintings in my gallery by the end of the week and I want to get Arya to do some pictures as well." Varys voice was assertive and dismissive at the same time.

Jaqen was still standing on the platform almost completely naked. He felt certainty that his plan might actually work. All he had to do was continue to stand there and let her draw him. He had to talk to her and spend some time alone with him before he felt totally confidant in his abilities to win her. He had to get her to paint with him. Then he had to somehow convince her to give one or two of them to Varys. This was going to be difficult, very difficult. But Jaqen loved a challenge.

She was the most challenging thing he had ever met. He walked back to the screen to dress. There was one part of his plan he had not shared with Varys. It was his own plot. He had a backup. If she did not come to him willingly he would engineer a reason for her to. And there was only one thing standing in his way. And it would be all too easy to make that problem go away.

Bran

Bran hated doctors' offices. They gave him the creeps. They were to clean and they smelled funny. But he would admit that doctors' offices were better then hospitals, at least people didn't die in the doctors like at hospitals.

Catelyn had made an appointment with one of the top neurologists in the country to get his head checked out. He hated that his mother had insisted that he come here. He had figured that he would go to a normal doctor, not a brain specialist. But then his mother always went a tad bit overboard with the medical attention that her children received. Sansa had been lucky that it had been their father with her at the ER when she had been in for her arm. If it had been Catelyn she would have made them admit her and have had a second and third opinion of what was wrong before she would have let Sansa come home.

Bran hoped that this was the only doctor that he had to see. He would not let them poke and prod and test him. His mother might want that, but he would not allow it. No matter what they said was wrong with him.

They had gotten to the appointment an hour early and at an ungodly hour in the morning so Bran was in a really bad mood when the medical assistant called him back to the room. He had not wanted his mother to come with him but she would not take no for an answer and followed him to the exam room.

The exam room smelled _cleaner_ then the waiting room. The smell alone was giving him a headache, but he figured that he was supposed to have a headache since they were the reason why he was here. Bran did not want to sit on the exam table but he was forced to as the only chair in the room was occupied by his mother and the other seat was a stool on wheels intended for the doctor.

There was a knock on the door and it swung opened and in walked the doctor. His eyes glanced at Bran then they found his mother and a smile spread across his face.

"Cat! It is a pleasure to see you again. It has been to long." The doctor walked over to Catelyn and took both of her hands in his. The doctors hands lingered on hers to long. She finally took them back and forced a smile on her face.

"Petyr it is a pleasure to see you as well. Thank you for seeing us so fast. You know how we mothers can be. If our children are hurt we can go over protective." She smiled at Bran.

The doctor finally tore his eyes away from his mother and looked at him. Bran noticed how his eyes went from true pleasure to false happiness. The good doctor extended his band out to Bran.

"Hello. I am Dr. Petyr Baelish. You must be Bran. I hear that you are having headaches." Petyrs hand was cold and impersonal when they shook hands.

"Yes I have been having headaches." Bran took his hand away from Dr. Baelish as fast as he could.

"Well let us take a look and we will see what the cause is. Can you describe the symptoms and give me a time line of when these headaches started?" Dr. Baelish sat down on the stool and took a tablet out of his small desk and looked at Bran expectantly.

Bran sighed and told Baelish everything about his headaches, except for seeing _visions_. Baelish nodded his head along with what Bran was saying and entered it into the tablet. He would pause to interject a question every now and then.

"Do you have a headache now Bran?" Petyrs voice was soft and delicate as he probed Bran for answers.

"I do. I always do. I have had them since I got here." Bran was annoyed with this man that was sitting in front of him. He watched as Baelish stole glances at his mother and she tried to avoid his gaze.

"We should do a CT and an MRI. Then if do not show why you are having these problems I would like to run other tests. We can place electrodes to your head and do more diagnostic tests." Dr. Baelish was looking at his mother as he spoke about the tests that they would run.

Bran sat and swung his while the doctor and his mother spoke. His part in the appointment was over and now it seemed that his mother was reminiscing with the doctor.

"I am so happy that you came in to my office. I think that I might be the only doctor who could be able to get to the bottom of your sons condition. Those nose bleeds are slightly concerning. If you would like to make an appointment for the scans with my receptionist on your way out that would be great. And Bran I would like to take some blood to do a blood test to rule out some minor causes of headaches. But for now I can prescribe you a pain medication to help at the moment and you will not have to resort to smoking pot." Petyr laughed and Bran looked at his mother appalled that she had told him about that.

"Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to squeeze us into the schedule today." Catelyn stood and pulled the strap of her bag up her shoulder. "It was very great to see you again Petyr. You will have to have dinner with Ned and I one of these nights."

"Yes we shall." Baelish beamed at Catelyn taking her hand again and stroked it with his. Catelyn looked uncomfortable and pulled her hand away. "Bran it was a pleasure meeting you as well. We will get this figured out and we will have you back to normal in no time."

"Thank you doctor." Bran mumbled.

They walked out the door of the exam room to find a nurse waiting to take them to a lab to get his blood drawn. He hated needles. They were the worst thing world in the world. His mother had told the lab tech about his fear and his reaction to pain so she had sprayed the crook of his elbow with a numbing solution before she plunged the needle into his vein. He looked away as the tech took three vials of blood from him.

Bran was relieved when they were done and they walked out of the lab. His mother stopped at the reception desk to schedule the appointments for all the other tests that Dr. Baelish had ordered and she was handed a prescriptions that were supposed to help his head. While they were leaving they were stopped by Baelish one more time.

"I would like you to see one of my colleges in the next week. He is a psychologist and I think that he can help you as well." Petyr handed Catelyn a card and they finally left the office.

"Now Bran we can either catch brunch before I take you to school or I can take you straight there." Catelyn inquired of Bran as they walked to the car.

"Brunch, most differently. Who is Petyr Baelish?" Bran asked as he strapped on his seat belt and she turned on the car.

His mother stalled in starting the car. She looked at him shocked. Bran knew his question threw her, and she was not easily startled. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"He was my neighbor boy when I was a kid. I think that he had a thing for me when we were growing up. But Lysa had a thing for him, not I. He asked me out once and I turned him down because I loved my sister. Then I went to college and left. He went to school as well and went to med school and we lost contact with each other. I have not seen him since high school ended. I heard that he was a neurologist here in the South and I wanted the best for you Bran. Everything I read said he was the best." She looked at her son and smiled tenderly at him touching his cheek in a motherly manner. "That's the story, nothing more. Now let's go get something to eat."

"Do you think he still has a thing for you mom? I mean he was pretty excited to see you." Bran asked in his usual way, wanting to know more.

"It's been years Bran. No person holds a touch for that long!" She laughed as she started the car and pulled into traffic.

"Well he still acted like he liked you mom." Bran smiled at her.

"Well you aren't thinking clearly son. Now how about grilled cheese and tomato soup? I hear there is a restaurant that makes only grilled cheese. It was your favorite when you felt poorly as a kid." She was heading for the restaurant before he answered.

"Mom, you know the answer. Let's go eat some grilled cheese!" He smiled at her. "Mom do I really have to go to school today? I mean I feel woozy from the blood loss." He tried to look pitiful and sad.

His mom laughed and shook her head. He knew she would cave. She didn't answer until she got to Grilled Cheese and Things. Once they were parked she took a good look at him.

"Brandon you must really not feel good if you don't want to go to school." Her brows were knitted together. Her hand stretched out and let it rest on his brow. "Huh. Well you do feel warm, it must be a fever. No school it is my boy. Now let's go have lunch."

Sandor

His schedule had not changed much with the new term. In fact it stayed the same. He had hoped that Sansa's had as well. He had not called her or texted her since that night that they had talked about Titanic. That comment that she made about Joffery being Cal had bugged him most of the night so he had looked it up online. From what he had found her comparison was pretty close to the truth and it most differently reviled to him that she was not as into Joffery as she appeared to be.

So he sat at their at their lab table during first period waiting for her to breeze into the room. She was walked to class by Joffery and he watched as he guided her to their desk, give her a kiss on the cheek and walk out of class.

Sansa put her bag down and took her seat beside him.

"Hi Sandor. How are you doing this morning?" She sounded tired and medicated.

"Fine. How is your arm?" He inquired with real concern in his voice.

"It is okay if I take the medication that they gave to me. But it tends to make me feel a little fuzzy and tired. I want to be at home in bed in my jammies with my stuffed wolf named Lady that I have had since I was a little girl. I still sleep with her when I don't feel good." She babbled.

Sandor smiled. She must not be firing on all cylinders. He was spending too much time with Gendry to use a car reference.

"You sleep with a stuffed animal?" Sandor asked chuckling.

"Um, yes. Yes I sure do. Do you have a problem with that?" She demanded.

"No I do not. I think that it's cute." He smiled at her.

Class started and they were unable to talk while the teacher droned on and on about the chemical makeup of the different elements of the periodic table, again.

It was a very boring lesson and when the teacher had stopped his lecture to the class started up their assignment they were to work on. There was the sound of pencils scratching on paper and the sharp sound of pages in the textbook being flipped opened to random pages.

"I hate the assignments in this class. The questions are straight forward, but the lectures suck and I never know what is happening in them." Sansa confessed as she looked at the index of the book.

"It really does suck." He also had his nose in the book looking for the answer.

"I wish that I could just give it to Bran to do." Sansa grumbled as she wrote down an answer on the question sheet.

Sandor chuckled as he wrote down an answer.

"I am taking an astronomy seminar this weekend. I was thinking of taking some classes at the observatory." Sansa confessed as she worked.

He stopped looking for answers and he looked at her. Her cheeks were red and her hair was a mess. He had never seen her look so unkept. She was always so put together, so polished. But she sat there looking so different. He liked her more for it, she wasn't always perfect. He knew what she was talking about and smiled at her again.

"I think I might be going to the same one that you are going to. Want to car pool?" He asked putting down his pencil and looking at her.

"Sure. But only if we can take my car." She smiled at him remembering the last time that he had tried to get in the car.

"Hell no. We are going to be taking my big American car. One that I know that I can fit into." He grumbled also remembering the escapade.

"Fine. But since we won't be taking my car we will be going to have to watch Titanic." She gave him a malicious smile as she reminded him of his promise.

"I had hoped that you were too drugged up to remember that I had said that." He chuckled.

"I do not forget things when Titanic is concerned." Sansa boasted.

"When do you want to do this?" Sandor asked raising one of his eyebrows.

"We can do it anytime this week." Sansa offered.

"I will agree, but only if I can bring homework with me and we work on it during the movie." Sandor said as he started flipping in his book again.

"That works for me. Thursday work?" She asked.

"That should work for me. We can do it at my house if you want." He answered.

"Okay. Now let's get back to work!" Sansa ordered.

Arya

Arya was distracted and spacey most of the morning. She had not been able to concentrate in her poetry class, causing Beric and Aegon to throw chunks of erasers into her hair. She was called upon in math class to answer a question and she was not able to answer it and Myrcella had to answer for her. She had not even been able to put the section of the car that she was working on back together. All she could see was Jaqen standing before her naked, or almost naked. His eyes bored into her as she sketched him.

"Arya you have been tightening that bolt for the last fifteen minutes and haven't said a word either. What is wrong?" Gendry asked as he wiped his hands on a rag as he stood looking down at her.

"What? Oh yeah I was distracted. That is all. What's up?" She smiled up at him.

"Nothing is up. I just wanted to say hi to my girlfriend." He said leaning down to kiss her.

"You can say hi to me anytime." She returned his kiss and put the part that she was working on down and stood up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Hi." He kissed her again and again and again.

"That is enough you two." The teacher barked from the door of his office.

They broke apart and smiled at one another.

"Do you want to say hi to me later today?" She asked, her arms still wound around his neck.

"Can't. Beric won't let us." Gendry frowned.

"I think that I might just kill that little shit." Arya grumbled.

"Don't you do that. We need him. He is the talent of the bunch." Gendry shook his head.

"Well this sucks. Because of him I never get to see you." She pouted.

"I know." He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Can I come with you tonight?" She asked.

"I don't think that Beric would like that." Gendry told her.

She scowled up at him then smiled up at him.

"I know what I can do while you play rock star. I can go shopping!" She smiled at him; he gave her a bewildered look.

"Shopping? You?" Gendry just continued to look at her as if she had sprouted three heads.

"Yes shopping. For paint, for your room." Arya let the smile tug at her mouth as his opened in disbelief.

"I thought we settled that. You said you liked my room." He smiled at her remembering the way he got her to say it was nice.

"Well if I can't shop for paint I guess I will go buy some new bras and underwear." She smiled at him in a way that made him twitch.

"Fucking Beric. I want to come with you!" He bellowed into the cavern of the shop. Everyone stopped working and looked at him. Arya smiled and ground up against him.

"No way cupcake. This is a one person trip. You have band sessions to do tonight. Now help me with this thing. I can't get the screw in right." She slipped past him to work on the discarded part.

He stood there looking at her tight bottom covered by her coverall thinking of what was underneath. He counted to ten and fought not to kill his lead singer. Arya Stark sure knew how to torment him.

Eddard

Things had been going better for him business wise since he had threatened Robert a few weeks back to clean up his act. The threat of leaving and forcing Robert to have to sell off his company piece by piece had really woken him up. He had noticed a change in Robert back to the man that he had once known.

His deal with him included breathalyzer tests every morning and mandatory AA meetings once a week. He got reports from inside his house staff that he was even starting to care for his children. He was taking Tommen to his sports practices and defending Myrcella from her mother's cruelty. Ned knew that Joffery was too influenced by his mother to stand a real chance of a change, but the younger two would really benefit from a relationship with their father.

He sat at his desk and worked on contracts and paper work. If things continued to go this well the Starks could be moving back North before the end of the school year. He had not anticipated the impact that this move would have on his children to the extent that it seemed to have on them.

He found it ironic that the child that he had worried the most over about the move was the one that he had the least worry about now. Arya had flourished and changed for the better in his opinion since they had moved South. She had found friends and an identity. She no longer hid in the shadows and pretended to be something that she was not. He was so proud of his Little Wolf.

Sansa on the other hand seemed to have lost herself. He should have never allowed her to date Joffery, knowing what he did about the boy. Her grades had fallen and since the accident she seemed lost even more. The one good thing in her life South was a boy she was to blind to see. Sandor wanted to protect her, Ned knew this, but she wouldn't do anything to make it all better.

And Bran was deteriorating as well. There was something that he was hiding from him and Catelyn, something that he was afraid of. Bran always kept his own council but this was too much for a fathers mind. He wanted to help his children be normal again. For no other reason he would pack the family back up and move them home.

His family came first. That was how he had always been. He had made his sister a vow on her death bed to protect her son and his children from all the evil in the world and he was trying like hell to honor that vow. He would die for them and kill to protect them. He hoped that things never came to that, but he knew that he would do anything to see them safe and happy. The arrangement with Robert still needed his attention at the present time so things would have to stay the way that were now and he just had to go pick up the pieces as they fell.


End file.
